No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell
by Jordan-Daniel
Summary: After the incident in Wyatts nursery Chris gets into a lot of trouble including illness and desperation. Can the family save him before he goes nuts? Or will he die trying to save Wyatt and endure the hatred of his own family? Completely revised - now without baby talk.
1. Trouble begins

**Disclaimer for all chapters:** I don´t own Charmed – I never will – unfortunately. Well, and I don´t get paid for writing that is also important.

**A/N:**

Please be kind. I am not very good at English as it is not my first language. I repeat English is not my native language. I learned English at school but I will never be perfect. If you criticize my English please tell me how I can improve it. I am open for all criticism and I want to get better.

I was inspired by some awesome Supernatural fanfictions and some other  
beautiful Charmed fanstories. Please tell me if you feel offended in any kind of  
way. I try to make my own story but with so many already existing stories out there it is  
difficult to write something new without taking stuff of others...

Time: Probably sometime after "Little Monsters"

Genre: Angst

Summary:

Chris Perry has a difficult job to do: He must save his big brother. His only  
problems are the following ones:

1. His brother was already evil  
2. He went back in time to change that  
3. He had difficulties to find the threat that turned his brother into a bad  
guy  
4. He stayed at his "home"  
5. Unfortunately his family didn´t know him  
6. They hated him  
7. And he had no clue how to make things better  
8. There will be something coming towards him that will make things worse  
9. He is now in the middle of BIG troubles involving illness,  
weakness, a lot of emotions...

A few weeks after the incident in Wyatt´s nursery, Chris found himself yet again in trouble. His family avoided him whenever possible. Therefore he got depressed and did a lot of things completely wrong. Now he found himself in even worse trouble. Meeting the false guys could mean your very own end...

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 1: Trouble begins**

It was there again. It was a pounding and annoying headache. It felt like a dull ache that would not go away no matter what he tried to do against it. No amount of pills or sleep would do any good. It was a constant aspect in his life now and he had the feeling that it worsened.

Last time, he had suffered from it, was after the incident in Wyatt´s nursery a couple of weeks ago. After he had rescued Wyatt and had made sure that Piper would care about and protect him he had left the Manor. The headache had reappeared a few minutes later.

_(Here we go: Sequel to "A night in Chris Perry's life")_

He never thought that a few nights without sleep could weaken him so much. A few nights in which he did things he was not proud of. Those were things which he would undo if only he could. Such things that he did not regret nevertheless.

But he hadn´t time for this. Right now all it was that he needed was a damn spell that should get him out of this mess he found himself in. He managed to screw up again. It was not as badly as anytime before but it was troubling.

And this trouble was the reason why he was here in the attic tonight. _Again._

It was like a nightly ritual. Literally: Go check the book. Look for the spell. Cast it. Then go to the demonic bar without worrying about troubles. Drink away all the sorrow that appeared during the day. Make yourself feel better even if you do not change your situation.

It could have been this easy to receive information from ugly demons. Get them drunk; ask them questions, demand answers. Easy - it should have been easy.

It _could_have been. The operative word in this sentence was "could".

But he had never had an easy life in the past since he had come here. It all started when he tried to stop the Titans and it all got to its peak when his very own mother, Piper Halliwell, kicked him out of the Manor - when she told him that she did not need his help to protect her son Wyatt Halliwell.

Yes, he never had it easy in his life. And therefore he was in trouble._ Again. _

Not only that the demons would not talk voluntarily. It was not like they did that ever before. No, they would ask _him_ questions instead. Pretty cruel questions or personal ones. He did not expect a demon to help him get over his own personal issues.

Great - just great. What a wonderful outcome of his nightly visits to stupid demonic bars.

He should have known - should have guessed, expected or even realized it before it had gone this far. But Chris was just tired, sore and a little sick. He was fed up with it all. Yet at the same time his determination to save Wyatt had not lessened.

He tried to remember where he had gone wrong. It felt like it all developed really fast. Ever since his first time in the demonic bar everything went from good to downright wrong:

_**Flashback...**_

He orbed down to the Underworld in search for his latest round of questioning and getting questioned. He was frustrated yet again. He was fed up with his life, work and success – or failure - in the past. His mother treated him like shit – his own mother. Sure she was not really his mother but still she looked like her and yeah, she was her younger version. She had no respect of him although he was her whitelighter and had only the best interests at heart.

Well, he shouldn´t have gone down there in his current mood. He should have known better than to go somewhere dangerous while his emotions were like a whirlpool. Messed up emotions meant messed up powers. And messed up powers only meant danger because one could not access them properly. Powers were connected to emotions after all.

Chris was down in the underworld nevertheless. Fortunately no one had seen him orbing to the bar. Blue orbs were a dead giveaway for whitelighters. Even half breeds like him. Thank God, his spell made sure that he couldn´t be identified as a whitelighter easily. It cloaked him and should have protected his real identity.

Now he walked into the demonic bar. He needed a drink. The bar was ironically just like every other normal bar in the upper world. It had a bar keeper, barstools, tables with candles and cards, a huge counter that could provide you with all the alcohol you wished for and it had a huge dancing floor.

Somehow it reminded Chris of P3, a club which his mother owned in the upper world. He snorted at the thought. Whenever he thought about her as "mom" he would... Well, his mom gave him a very hard time. And his aunts did, too. Screw them. It was time to ease up his pent up emotions and gain some new information on the threat to Wyatt.

After all he had not done anything wrong. Well yes, he shouldn´t have put Leo to Valhalla and kept him a prisoner there. He was his dad somehow even if only biological and in the near future. And yes, he shouldn´t have employed Gith. And he shouldn´t ... Ah, he sounded just like his mom and like Leo these days. All, you did this wrong, you did that wrong, never you did well or we are proud of you!

What´s done was done. And after all, it was for Wyatt´s sake. But nobody seemed to understand. Nobody tried to even understand what he went through. What he still put himself through. Every single night the nightmare would keep him awake. Every waking hour he would think about ways he could prevent the inevitable. Yet, he always knew there was nothing he could have done in the future. What happened happened. But he was trying his best to never let that future happen again. He would succeed.

Well, he could do something right now. He could change things for the better. That was his goal after all - his reason for coming back to the past in the first place: Saving Wyatt - protecting Wyatt - keeping Wyatt innocent and good. It was everything about Wyatt, always about Wyatt.

Now he sat at the counter and had a big beer in front of him. Normally he wouldn´t have drunken an alcoholic drink. Never. He was on a mission and this mission was way too important to be faced too easily. But not now - now he was utterly frustrated.

"How could she keep a demon in the playpen? How could she?" he muttered. He still could not believe that his mother had allowed a demonic baby to be in the same playpen as his brother was in. She was willingly accepting a threat in her own house right next to Wyatt. Was she out of her mind? What was she thinking? He shook his head at those thoughts.

"Escuse meee," a big and imposing but drunk demon next to him babbled, "Whadd´ou sssay?"

"Nothing," Chris replied deeply in thought. He still could not wrap his mind around the behavior of his mother.

"Yooou lookkk way tooo nicccce too beee heerree," the demon insisted to make small talk. He smelled like vomit and dirt. Chris had to resist the urge to wrinkle his nose.

"Yeah, I think so," Chris did not really listen to him. Actually he paid him no attention but he tried to be polite. So he answered this instead of a simple "mhm".

"Whhhyyyyy arrre yoou hereee? Whhattt´s yourrr problemm? Wittchhes?" the demon chatted further on not in the slightest bit disturbed by the minimal response from Chris.

"Yeah, exactly," he said before he realized what he had done. He had listened with one ear to what the demon had said but he had not really understood what he had asked. That was why he just answered promptly letting his frustration out. One could only keep feelings so long bottled up.

"I knowww theyyy caaan beeeee veryy annoyyinggg. Doo yoou neeed heelpp vanquishingg themm?" The demon was all business now. He thought maybe that he could earn himself a few bucks and have fun.

"No, I can handle them," he answered too quickly. He had to get himself out of this mess. He could not be willingly hiring a demon to kill his mother and aunts. Was he nuts now?

_Great. What have you done now? _A little voice inside his head scolded him.

"Don´tt bee soo shyy. I caaan heelp. I knoww a lott of demonnns. Weee caaan helpp yoou!" The demon drank a lot of his beer and burped, "Yoou shouldd drink, itt helpps!" He exclaimed happily as if beer was the answer to Chris` problems.

He pointed expectantly towards Chris´ beer that was only half empty by now. Chris looked from the demon to the beer and back and sighed.

_Maybe I could take a little time off. Maybe. _The inner voice was now encouraging him to take a time out. Something in him told him that even he deserved a break once in a while.

He grabbed his beer and drank. He did not really like beer but it was better than nothing and it did not get him drunk as fast as harder liquor would.

"That´ssss a gooood bbboyy!" The demon grinned, he was proud that he accomplished something and sat closer next to him. The demon´s scent let Chris´ stomach turn.

"Whatt´sss youuur nammme? I havven´tt seennn yoou aroundd befforre!" The demon was in a good mood and happy to have found a chatting partner. And he was curious as well.

_Shit. There we go. A demon who wants friendship. Or a dinner. Well... just play along... I can vanquish him later... _Chris was really weighing his options and settled for a safe approach.

"I´m Matt," Chris said indifferently as if it was his real name. Sometimes he was shocked to see how easily he could lie through his teeth and pretend to be someone else. But several years under Wyatt´s dominion would change a lot of people, even a Halliwell.

"Yeah, I´mmm oold Jooo. Nice to meet yoou!" He offered his slick hand and grinned a toothless smile. Chris shook it nevertheless to keep up his pretence.

_Well that was new._ His inner voice warned him of something he could not yet put his finger on.

"Sooo coouldd yoou neeeed a helppp´ handdd?" The demon urged him to hire him. It seemed like the poor bastard needed entertainment.

_Now or never. Wait what did he say? He knows a lot of demons. Yeah great. Maybe I could use him for information. And he doesn´t look too strong. So why not risk it? _Chris was only seeing the advantages now.

"Well...," Chris began hesitantly.

_**End of flashback...**_

Chris never understood why he did this in the first place. It was wrong in so many ways. He simply spent way too much time down there. He was letting his frustration getting the better of him.

He drank a lot of beer and met a lot of Jo´s friends or whatever you would call them. Fortunately they were not too powerful to handle if something went wrong. But they also were not the threat that he needed to eliminate in order to save Wyatt.

But the worst part of it was that his charges – the sisters – didn´t even notice his absence. Not even once had they asked him where he was, what he had done while they were busy doing god knows what. They pretended that they didn´t need him that much and they said he should lay low. _Great. _Chris´ inner voice was getting angry again.

Therefore Chris was in the bar. He needed to get his anger out. He needed a difference. He needed someone to talk to – even if it was a demon. He would even go with the refrigerator if that freaking thing could respond. He just needed someone who would hear him out, offer him a chance, a shoulder to cry on. He needed a rock, something that told him to keep going.

Something that helped him to endure all of the things he had to tolerate or suffer from. He could not stand to always hear the complaints and distrust of the sisters.

But it was not only this night that he was down there.

He was there the next night. And the following. And...

All the while he thought he would receive useful information but instead he only met new demons and had more to drink and less time to sleep. He began to understand that he fooled himself. He did not go there for information. He did it for selfish reasons. He wanted to go down there. Drink. Talk. Pretend. Forget.

And there was the next problem: He was getting no sleep. Be it because of his nightly tour or the nightmares. The result was the same he was exhausted and yet unable to find a good night`s rest.

But yet again the sisters didn´t even notice his presence. They couldn´t see him suffering. (If you could count going to a bar as suffering). They said they needed more private life. _Great – again! _He was slowly working himself to death. A slow and painful death. He would die of sleep deprivation. But he could need all the time he got to find the threat on his own.

So he researched on his own in this bar. He got a lot of names of demons, lower and upper level ones, scary and normal ones, but none seemed to be THE threat.

And he hated to admit it. But the time down there was great. He enjoyed it more than the sisters´ attitude towards him. Although they were his family he preferred going out with demons, drinking with them, chatting with them sometimes even confiding in them. If only _his_ Piper knew...

But she was dead. She died protecting him. He could still see her face in those last minutes of her life as he held her for dear life. She was...

Not now! No time for painful memories. He scolded himself for letting his thoughts drift down that road. A road that would end in self pity and tears. He had no time for tears or pity he needed to be strong!

He had a job to do: Save Wyatt! Protect the world – save dozens of lives and maybe make your own future not a living hell. If he even had one. He may have screwed with his very own existence. Another worry that had to be dealt with later, there was simply no time!

Yeah there was the spell he needed. A cloak spell for his blue orbs. _Great_. Sometimes he simply loved magic.

He casted it and sighed. Another long, long night lay ahead. On the one hand he loved spending time down there but on the other hand it did not really help him much up until now.

Maybe he should change tactic, search the underworld, torture demons, instead of chatting in a demonic bar... No... Not now. He made up his mind. This night he would go down there again. Even if it could be his last time. Tomorrow he could search elsewhere for now the bar had to suffice.

And with that he orbed down to the underworld. His mind was set but there was still this little worry in the back of his head that what he did now was not really helping at all...

* * *

It was the next morning. The sun was hiding behind clouds but the weather seemed fine. The newspaper was delivered to the Manor and everything seemed quiet just like a normal day.

Piper Halliwell was in her kitchen and finished preparing breakfast for what was left of her family. Her youngest sister Paige sat next to her at the table occasionally groaning.

Piper fed her son Wyatt while Paige was reading the newspaper. Wyatt sat happily in his highchair and Piper made flying sounds as she spoon fed him. She actually looked quite relaxed.

"Did you know that Phoebe and her column are on the first place again?" Paige asked as she came across the certain section in the newspaper. She looked up shortly to see if Piper was listening and had to smile at her little nephew.

"Really? No, I didn´t know. Here we go Wyatt!" Piper replied in a matter of fact voice and put a spoon in Wyatt´s open mouth.

The little boy squeaked and Piper beamed at him. She felt proud to be a mom of such a great kid.

"Do you know where Chris is? I haven´t seen him lately," Paige asked while she continued turning the pages. She sometimes stopped to read a short paragraph, smiled or shook her head and then went on reading. The mug of coffee next to her was also sometimes used.

"No, why do you ask?" Piper wondered and kept feeding Wyatt.

"Oh it´s just... err nothing," Paige stopped herself before she babbled out things that would upset Piper. She knew how well her sister responded to the topic 'neurotic little whitelighter from the future is missing again'.

"Paige?" Piper looked at her sister curiously. She wanted to know the reason why she would ask in the first place.

"Okay well, I wanted to ask him something," Paige began unsure. She stopped reading and looked up sheepishly.

"Something in something about the future?" Piper inquired with a small smile on her lips. She had thought that it was something important.

"NO!" Paige was quick to assure her. Piper saw her worry not affirmed as Paige quickly denied wanting to know any future information. She had just answered too swiftly for Piper`s liking. "Busted," she thought amused.

"So what else if not that?" Piper tried to keep her amusement out of her voice. She gave Wyatt another spoonful of his meal.

"Piper! I wanted to ask him a few questions," Paige replied on the defense. She could not believe that Piper thought that she tried to get knowledge about the future although she was dying to know more. Would it not be great to know when demons attack and when they had a weekend off?

"About what? Spill it lady!" Piper demanded. Paige was way too evasive.

"Okay but don´t be mad," Paige relented and hung her head actually lower. It seemed she was embarrassed.

"Paige!" Piper sighed. This was getting her nowhere but now her interest was in this.

"I want to know a few things about withlighter things," Paige muttered in a low voice. She did not meet Piper´s eyes.

"That´s it?" Piper asked incredulously. Why was Paige making such a deal out of it?

"Yeah that´s it," confirmed Paige and as she noticed that Piper was not yelling or anything she raised her head.

"Why the big drama?" Piper had to ask. Something felt off.

"Well, with all the Leo absence.. I don´t want you to have painful memories," Paige was again filled with uncertainty.

"That´s sweet Paige, but I´m okay," Piper said in a soft voice. She was touched by how much thoughts Paige was giving her breakup with Leo.

"Good, if you say so. So do you know where Chris is?" Paige was glad that Piper understood her point. Now she still needed to know where Chris was.

"No, maybe he´s in the attic," Piper supplied with a shrug while she kept feeding Wyatt.

"No, I already checked there. And he is also not at P3," Paige informed her and wrinkled her head in confusion and a slight bit of worry.

"Are you worrying? Maybe he is in the underworld," the way Piper said that implied that she could not care less.

"Maybe. But I called him and he didn´t come," Paige was not sure what it was but she knew something was wrong.

"Hm. Should I call him?" Piper could not see what Paige´s problem was.

"Yeah give it a try," Paige did not really believe that it would change anything. Yet she could not stop herself for getting her hopes up. She was burning to get some of her questions answered.

"Okay. Chris? ... Chrrrrrrrisssss? ... Chris come right here!" Piper yelled at the ceiling. She was already annoyed as he did not orb in a second later.

"See? I told you something isn´t right," Paige cut in urgently.

"Okay, that´s not normal. When did you see him for last time Paige?" Piper wondered why he still was not here. Normally he would be happy to come here and order them around.

"Err...well... I dunno," Paige stuttered in a voice full of guilt.

"What you don´t know? Try to remember!" Piper snapped at her for which she was immediately sorry. She had stopped to feed Wyatt and looked around with a worried gaze.

"Piper – when did _you_ see him last time?" Paige asked her with an accusing tone.

"Yesterday...," Piper replied but trailed off immediately as she was not certain.

"And what did he do?" Paige knew that Piper was not sure when she had last seen Chris.

"Well... I dunno," Piper realized that she had no clue. She actually started to worry.

"Piper are you sure that you saw him yesterday?!" Paige could not believe her eyes. Did Piper really care that less?

"No," Piper admitted in a low voice, "But it isn´t like I´d keep track of it."

"Okay, that´s weird. He would already stand here and give us a lecture about danger and demons. There is something very wrong. You keep trying to call him. I call Phoebe!" Paige declared worried and stormed to the phone.

"Chris, can you hear me? Chris?" Piper shouted to the ceiling, she really hoped that he would orb in and tell them that he had been in the underworld and couldn´t get here asap. Wyatt sat nearby and squeaked happily. He didn´t notice the tension in the air.

* * *

Chris awoke to a pounding headache again. One that was more intense and more persistent than the last one. He could not easily push it to the back of his mind.

As he looked around him he began to worry. Nothing seemed familiar. He had no recollection of what had happened last. He had absolutely no clue about what was going on.

The last thought he had before darkness claimed him again was: "Where the hell am I?"

_To be continued..._

Please review: Do you like it? Hate it?

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	2. Found him!

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 2: Found him!**

"Is he awake yet?" a female voice asked. She sounded like she really cared about her charge lying prone and unmoving in front of her.

"No," a male voice answered her. He was standing next to her and had a sad look on his face.

"Poor boy - way too much alcohol!" The woman sighed defeated. It was always about alcohol. The way the boy smelled of smoke and alcohol it couldn´t have been anything different than a bar he had been to.

"Yeah; old Jo has an enormous influence on the youth!" the man laughed without joy. He knew Jo, he knew what he did.

"Where is he anyway?" the woman wanted to know. They had to be one step ahead of the game.

"Dunno - said he comes back later," the man shrugged knowing full well that there was nothing they could do.

* * *

"Chriiiiiiiisssss!" Piper shouted for the millionth time. She was getting really worried and nervous. But still there was no answer which set her on edge. There was something majorly wrong she was sure of it now.

"What is it?" Phoebe shouted back as she stormed through the front door in a hurry. "Paige only said come back as soon as you can!" She wore an expression that expected the worst. She had not been informed yet but she felt like she knew it was really bad.

"Would you please come over here Pheebs?" Paige asked her older sister cautiously. She didn´t know how to voice her concern.

"Where is the here?" Phoebe muttered, a bit pissed at being left out, but she walked over to her sister when she saw her. And in an instant the look of defeat knocked her invisibly back.

What she saw worried her.

Wyatt was in his playpen and around this there was an intact crystal cage. Probably for safety she figured. Paige was sitting at the table with the scrying utilities and Piper paced nervously while she shouted something.

"NOW: What's going on with you two?" she demanded not sure if she wanted to know.

"Well, we have a... um a problem here." Paige started still unsure. She had to convey her worry towards her sister, too.

"Yeah, and we don't know if it is big or if we worry too much – well, I mean you can't know with him. Sometimes he is just so... - then he acts so, so strange, I dunno. But now – now I AM worried sick cause he won't answer and I don't know why and ..." Piper babbled nervously while she kept pacing. She did not look Phoebe in the eyes.

"Stop! Okay, calm down! What's wrong? Who doesn't answer? And most important: Who is after Wyatt and for whom do you scry?" Phoebe wanted to know all at once. She needed to know right now. She didn't think that she could stand to be left in the dark any longer. Was someone threatening her little angel?

"Well, apparently no one is after Wyatt, at least not now," Paige said in a matter of fact tone. She resisted sighing.

"Yeah, that's only for his safety - this cage I mean," Piper agreed quickly. She couldn´t form coherent thoughts let alone inform her sister correctly.

"So what's the matter?" Phoebe tried to be patient, she really did. But one could only ask so much of Phoebe Halliwell.

"Um ... Chris is missing," Paige stuttered. She was glad it was out although she didn´t feel any better and Chris didn´t magically pop out of nowhere just because all of the Charmed Ones knew about his absence now.

"What? Why?" Phoebe almost shouted. That was the reason they had her come home? Wasn´t Chris always somewhere? Yet, she knew that there was more to it than just that.

"We, um we don´t know. When have you seen him for the last time?" Piper asked hoping that she could know but already knowing that she would not know where Chris was.

"Maybe two-three days ago," Phoebe replied after some thinking. She sensed the problem.

"Okay that´s bad," Paige said and looked lost. How could none of them have noticed that he was missing for this long? He was just a boy after all.

"Anything could have happened to him in the meantime. Why didn´t we notice earlier?" Piper spoke out loud what Paige was just thinking. Piper already blamed herself although she did not really like Chris. But a whitelighter was always on top of the wanted list for hungry demons. Not as high as the death of the Charmed Ones but the orbing and healing – no scratch that – power were rare.

"Maybe because none of us "needed" him – as hard as it sounds," Paige muttered and realized that they would be blamed if the whitelighter powers came into the wrong hands or if their whitelighter just died on them.

"Oh my god! I can't forgive me if something bad happened to him," Piper whined. Somewhere along all this she wondered why she cared so much all of a sudden.

"Honey, listen. He's okay. I am sure. I mean he is here to save Wyatt. And he is our whitelighter. He has duties to do he can't run away from," Phoebe explained trying to calm everyone. Yet at the same time she knew that it was lame.

"What if he was kidnapped? We know a lot of demons who want whitelighter abilities!" Piper cut in voicing her fears. What if some new upper level demon decided to use orbing powers all of a sudden? They wouldn´t suspect blue orbs to be a threat.

"That's what I am scrying for," Paige said. If he is alive then we will find him, she was confident.

"You can't really scry for this whitelighter Paige!" Phoebe replied as if Paige had all of a sudden forgotten that scrying did not work for whitelighters.

"Well, I am looking for witches in trouble. Maybe he is by one of them – I mean he is a whitelighter after all. Why shouldn't he be there - we refused to work with him. Maybe he helps others instead," Paige said and believed that she had a point there.

"Yeah, but I don't think so. He is not that good as a whitelighter and he wants to spend all of his time to find a way to save Wyatt. I don't think he is near any of them," Phoebe argued with a sad expression. "And he wasn't kidnapped because of his powers. There are a lot more whitelighters out there who are more powerful than him!"

"Maybe he can't heal. But he can orb. And he was an easy target. So why not?" Piper shot back and realized what she just revealed. Chris was not so strong that he could escape all demon clutches. What if one of those really had laid hands on him?

"I see, but I doubt it. Maybe he is in the underworld. He is busy and can't call back?" Phoebe suggested although she knew that this was definitely not the case here. He had been missing for far too long.

"Very funny Pheebs!" Piper said angrily but she knew that Phoebe did not deserve her anger.

"Sorry honey. Maybe he comes back any minute," Phoebe tried to apologize.

"I tried to call for him for almost three hours!" Piper went on and couldn´t keep the anger and worry out of her voice.

"Oh..," Phoebe trailed off. She understood that she had no possible explanation that did not include the words `kidnap` or `death` in it.

"Yeah, `oh`," Piper replied, "and I also used terms as `Wyatt's in danger` but he doesn't show up." _Why didn't he? Isn´t he always trying to help them and trying to save Wyatt?_

"Uh oh," Phoebe released a long breath and let her shoulders sag.

"Yeah, `uh oh`," Piper agreed and then all three of them fell silent.

* * *

Chris startled awake.

Something woke him. Disturbed his quick nap. Well, not a nap, more like an exhausted faint. Yeah, definitely something like fainting felt righter than just sleeping.

"Hey, sleepy head - easy there!" a woman greeted him warmly. She was sitting right next to him as he noticed. He didn´t even notice her before. It was just another sign how out of his game he was.

He was lying on his back in a bed. He did not recognize the room and had the vague feeling that he had been awake some time before only to have discovered about the same fate back then. The woman who he met was a middle aged woman; she looked like a nice elderly lady.

"Where am I?" he answered utterly confused and always cautious. All of this – he didn´t recognize it. It was neither the manor nor P3. And the woman could always turn out to be a demon or a warlock or whatever.

"Where the heck am I?" he thought confused as he looked around. His eyes landed on nothing that seemed vaguely familiar. There were shelves and cupboards. It looked like a comfortable and clean room.

"Alan, could you come over here, please?" she replied as she noticed his confused glaze. Chris thought he saw a flicker in her eyes. Was it fear? Did she know who he was? What he was capable of?

"Maybe I have to restrain him when he causes trouble - you never know with this youth..." she thought sadly as she watched him closely. She had made enough bad experiences with drunken young ones to be careful. Although this one looked nothing like he would smite her but the look in his confused and slightly frightened eyes let her be cautious.

Chris tried to get up. He thought that he had to get away from here as soon as possible. Sure, he was powerful and bla but he was also hurt. He could not battle in his condition as well as if he was fit. He pulled his elbows under him and pushed himself a bit up.

But as soon as he was in a semi-sitting position he got nauseous and dizzy. He gasped and put a hand to his head. This was an even worse idea than sitting up in the first place. He lost his balance and crashed back into the mattress which caused his head to connect with the pillow. The contact even if it was a soft pillow caused stars to appear in his vision.

"Easy kiddo. Yesterday was a late night I guess," the woman replied caringly and patted his arm carefully but lovingly. He flinched at the contact and she withdrew her hand quickly as if burnt. She should have known he was a stranger after all.

"Who are you?" Chris asked in a bitter tone and thought: "I never saw her before, why did she touch me? I can´t smell demon on her... Who is she?"

"Very well, you definitely have no manners," she began in a hurt voice and sighed. They were always rude and ungrateful nowadays.

"Sorry," Chris realized that he was rude and corrected his false start swiftly, "I am Chris," he tried again. He was still lying in the bed and holding his head. He did not even consider using his alias. Lying there made him feel vulnerable to whatever the lady could have planned.

"At least I know that a demon would not start a conversation this way," he thought bitterly before his thoughts shifted to Jo and his gang. The memories were fussy but they held nothing good. He wondered what had happened to him.

"Much better sweetie (he flinched at that word too). I am Helen, nice to meet you, " she smiled at him. "Maybe you should rest some more," she suggested in a motherly and caring tone. It sounded sincere.

"Rest? No, I have no time for such sort of vacancy. I have to save my brother!" he wanted to scream at her but replied instead in an urgent voice: "No, I gotta go."

"Easy kiddo – no need to hurry! Alan hurry up!" she shouted alarmed and stood up. Now she was hovering over Chris and glared at him in a "don't-you-dare" way. Chris felt cornered. He still did not know what she was exactly or who this Alan guy was.

Nevertheless, Chris tried to get to his feet again. But once he stood – this time successfully on his own two feet in a fluid motion - he swayed dangerously. His knees refused to hold him up, they felt like lead and butter at the same time. He could not get them to support his weight. He cursed at his failure to have control over his own body and simply fell down.

"Why is the room spinning?" he could only think as he accepted his current predicament. He had no way of running away and he was not sure if he could use his magic in front of her. What if she was a mere mortal?

Before he could meet the ground, however, two strong arms grabbed him from behind. They were linked in front of his chest and raised him up a bit. He shuddered at the contact but was too weak to fight it off. If this was a demon then he was screwed. Well maybe not it seemed as if he was already screwed.

"Easy kiddo," a low male voice told him next to his ear. It did not sound like the fierce voice of a demon but rather like the voice of a caring husband. The strong hands helped him down to the floor in a slow motion.

"Mmh," Chris mumbled before he couldn´t hold onto consciousness any longer. The room had been spinning and darkness claimed him once again.

"I don't know what's wrong with him Alan," Helen said in a defeated tone, "He seems lost and hurt."

"Me neither. But the way he looks like it seems he was in a huge bar fight," Alan suggested bitterly. It was always the same with the boys. They went to a bar and then got into a bar fight.

"But he was the victim it seems. He is hurt pretty badly. Maybe we should take him to a hospital," Alan informed his wife.

"No. He has no ID. And how should we explain this outfit?" Helen interjected suddenly worried. How could they possibly explain this situation? Even if they had their son to help them it wouldn´t be easy.

"We could change him," Alan tried to reason with her but he knew that they had way too many lost boys who got hurt in a fight in the last couple of weeks. His son was getting into trouble with them for trying to cover for them each time.

"Yeah we could. Oh and his name is Chris," Helen was glad that Alan understood.

"Chris? Maybe is mother is already looking for him. I´ll call Daryl. If someone searches for him he´ll know," Alan was glad that he could do anything for the boy. He was already fond of him.

"Yeah, do that sweetheart. I stay with him," Helen agreed happily. They could help this one without their son.

Alan picked Chris up and lowered him on the bed again. Helen dug him in blankets. Carefully enough not to harm him further.

Chris looked worse than he gave away in the short time he was awake. His hair and clothes were a mess. He didn't wear his shoes anymore and his shirt was disrupted. There were bruises all over his face. His hands had been full of cuts. Those were now hidden under big bandages. And he smelt like a bar. Cigarettes and alcohol.

"Sleep well Chris," Helen whispered softly as to not disturb him and stroked over Chris´ hair. "I hope Alan finds your family."

She kissed him on the forehead and left the room after a while.

* * *

"Piper, would you sit down for a minute?" Paige asked annoyed. She had stopped scrying because she ended up with nothing. She wasn´t one to give up easily but that the crystal wasn´t dropping somewhere could mean either there was no witch in trouble which was odd or there were so many witches in trouble that the crystal could not land a single hit.

"Whatever kidnapped Chris could be after Wyatt too! I must check every room!" Piper replied like a crazy one and hurried to the next room in search of a demon. She knew it was ridiculous but it was at least something that she could do.

"Piper, he is safe in the crystal cage." Phoebe commented while she was searching through Chris` stuff that they had taken here from P3. Maybe she could get a premonition.

"Yeah, and Chris can take care of himself. I know. I'm just always worried!" Piper was already in the next room.

"No, I didn't say that!" Phoebe said irritated, "He is missing for four hours and two or three days now!"

Phoebe took some more things from Paige in hope to get a premonition that would tell her where their whitelighter could be. But so far nothing had happened. And in his stuff there was no indication as to where he could have gone.

"We should do more!" Piper shouted from the kitchen where she was now in.

"Honey, we do everything we can think of!" Phoebe replied and had to smile. Piper was worrying too much. But it was good to have Piper care so much about Chris. It felt better than seeing her threatening the whitelighter.

"Well, we could call Leo," Paige suggested after tentatively.

"No way," Phoebe hissed, "he would probably kill Chris for leaving us alone now."

"Yeah, if he isn't already dead," Paige muttered under her breath before she could stop herself.

"Hey, cut the crap you two! He IS NOT dead!" Piper said with a glare in her eyes. She now stood in the doorway with her hand on her hips. She could not believe her ears. When did all of them become so easy to lose hope?

"Well, technically he is already dead with being a whitelighter and all," Paige changed her statement to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, that's true... But still, he is kinda alive as in well, you know," Piper began and gestured wildly with her arms, "Well, argh."

"What do you mean?" Phoebe said sensing Piper´s frustration.

"I dunno. But my stomach tells me so," Piper didn´t know what she meant by saying that but it was that what was running through her head at the moment.

"Oh," Phoebe replied curiously as to why Piper would have a gut feeling when it came to Chris.

"Your stomach?" Paige wondered out loud. She was also curious for Piper´s explanation.

"Well... forget it!" Piper sighed. She didn´t know why she had even brought it up.

"So what do we do now?" Paige asked trying to change the subject in order to give Piper a break. She wasn´t going to let Piper get away this easily, however. She was getting back to it later.

Her query was greeted with silence.

* * *

"Morris?" Daryl Morris, a police inspector and friend of the Charmed Ones answered his ringing phone.

"Um yeah, hello Daryl, this is Alan," Alan greeted his friend hesitantly.

"Hello Alan! What can I do for you old friend?" Daryl's joy at hearing his old friend was apparent.

"I have another teenager," Alan was quick to get to the point although he could have used the small talk.

"Drunken? Too bad that this won't stop," Daryl muttered. His joy was replaced by sadness.

"Yeah drunken and beaten up," Alan informed him but something in his voice gave away his devotion to the new boy.

"Beaten up? I'm sorry to hear that. How bad?" Daryl could already hear the question on Alan´s mind: Where there kids missing? Did someone already start looking for him?

"I dunno. But Helen refuses to bring him to a hospital, says that we have to keep our boy out of more trouble," Alan supplied openly.

"Yeah, and if she says so then it can't be too bad," Daryl joked as he sensed his friend´s distress and tried to lighten the mood.

"Would you check if his parents look for him?" Alan did not respond to the joke. He was worried.

"Sure. What's his name?" Daryl asked. This was nothing new to him. Some boys always tended to end up drunk and somehow found them in the caring hands of Alan and Helen who tried everything to help them.

"Chris," Alan replied and was disappointed that he couldn´t tell Daryl the last name, too.

"Chris?" Daryl repeated the name. He had a strange feeling in his stomach.

"Yeah I dunno his last name though," Alan confessed. He waited impatiently.

"That's a bit vague. Can you describe him?" Daryl had to gain more information before he could start a search. There were a lot of people missing and Chris was a common name. It could be short for Christian, Christopher or simply Christoph. There was no way that only one missing boy would show up in his list.

"He has dark hair. He is tall...," Alan began to describe his new lost boy.

"Has he green eyes?" Daryl asked suddenly and he dreaded the answer.

"Dunno maybe. Why - do you know him?" Alan got his hopes up. If Daryl knew him personally then he could get the poor boy back to his parents faster.

"Keep an eye on him, will ya?" Daryl asked seriously. He wasn´t sure if this was really Chris. He still had to confirm his suspicion.

"Sure. Is something wrong? Is he a criminal?" Alan wanted to know. He didn´t think that Chris looked like a bad guy but one could never know. It was common knowledge that silent guys could turn into bad guys, too.

"What? No, no. I just check him with my list. I'll call you back as soon as I can!" Daryl assured his friend.

"Good. Thanks Daryl. And he is in safe hands here," Alan affirmed his earlier statement.

"Yeah I know. Bye Alan, and thanks," Daryl said his goodbyes and hung up.

"Good bye," Alan did likewise.

* * *

"Can this be? Is this Chris Perry? What did he do now? How did he end up in a bar fight?" Daryl wondered anxiously and called the Halliwells quickly. The sooner he got news the better. Something was not right. How did the whitelighter of the Halliwells end up in Alan´s care?

* * *

The phone rang loudly and broke the deafening silence that threatened to suffocate everyone in the Manor. Ever since their last argument the sisters had yet to utter more words.

"I'll go and answer it!" Piper told her sisters indifferently and ran towards the phone. Her stomach, however, got her hopes up.

"Piper Halliwell, hello?" Piper answered the phone politely while her heart hammered in her chest. It was ridiculous to say at least. Why would Chris use a phone?

"Piper? This is Daryl. Can I talk to you in private?" Daryl greeted her in a serious tone that did not imply that he called for small talk but rather for business.

"Hey Daryl. Sure, what's wrong?" Piper did not think that she could handle a demonic hostage situation or some warlocks who killed people in the backstreets now. She had other things to worry about. But just as soon as those thoughts entered her mind she felt guilty. When did she place innocents on the last spot of her priority list?

"I dunno. But when have you seen Chris the last time?" Daryl interrupted her thoughts.

Piper nearly dropped the phone. This was about Chris? How could it be?

"This can't be right - this can't be true. He is not dead, no Daryl calls because... because he is in trouble... yeah that's it...," Piper thought worried sick. Was Chris found dead lying somewhere next to the street? Bloodied, battered and lifeless? She imagined his body lying defeated maybe in the corner of the room and quickly pushed the mental image to the back of her mind before it could turn into the bloodied corpse of her whitelighter.

She forced herself to ask: "What's about him and where is he now?"

_To be continued..._

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	3. Even more trouble?

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 3: Even more trouble?**

"Piper, there´s no need to worry," Daryl tried honestly not to make the Halliwell matriarch upset or angry because he did know how bad her temper could get.

"Worry?" Piper repeated incredulously.

"Oh no, wrong term," Daryl thought angrily at himself. He should have known better. He should have chosen his words more carefully. But he wanted to know about Chris.

"Daryl? What's wrong with him? Have you found him?" Piper asked more afraid than before because of his silence. She was repeating her mantra of "nothing is wrong, he will be fine or I will kick his ass" silently over and over again.

"Found him? Was he missing?" Daryl wondered aloud. He found it odd that Chris was missing. He knew that the young whitelighter tended to go missing sometimes but nobody seemed to be too worried about it before. That Piper was worrying now – he knew it because she sounded really worried – was something unheard of before especially if her concern was because of a certain whitelighter.

"Yeah kind of. Now where is he? How is he?" Piper bubbled as she hoped to God that Daryl would simply tell her already.

"Easy Piper! I dunno if it´s him. But a friend of mine has found a kid," Daryl told her quickly but with certainty.

"A kid?" Piper asked back. She would not refer to Chris as a "kid" although he looked young.

"Yeah, that kid looks like him," Daryl informed her in a sincere voice.

"Found? Why? Where?" Piper`s thoughts were too fast and she couldn´t form complete sentences to her questions. She realized that she really worried about Chris. She herself found it odd. Yet she soothed herself with the thought that she needed Chris back so that she could scold him and kick his ass for making her worry in the first place.

"Well...," Daryl began. He knew he had to inform her quickly. Daryl could already sense her thin thread of patience on that subject.

* * *

_In the meantime..._

_"I have to go. Those people are in danger if I stick around too long,"_Chris thought guiltily and took his stuff as quietly as he could.

He carefully tried to get to his feet. Sitting wasn't a big problem anymore. He had managed to do that without emptying his stomach. He knew that he was far from fine but he had to go with what he got. He still did not know who those people where. But even if they were human he did not want to get them involved in his mess that he called his life. They deserved a normal life without magic or evil brothers. Chris almost sighed when he heard a woman from outside of his room shout:

"Alan? Could you check on him? I need to get a few things from the supermarket!"

"Sure honey, I'll go to him when I finished his tea," the man replied lovingly.

"Great! See you!" his wife seemed to be glad that her husband took care of their new charge. She left the house and Chris heard the front door – or what he assumed to be the front door – closing.

"Yeah," the man saw her off and went back to finish the tea.

_"Great – I have to go NOW! Who know what she or he will do next,"_ Chris thought as he realized his chance. _"Here we go. Orbing Chris – Orbing. No need to walk. Yeah that's how it goes."  
_  
He closed his eyes and searched for his inner power. He looked for his magic which was a task more difficult than normal. He seemed to have been using a lot of magic lately. He found the trigger which he needed to activate his orbing power – something that really bothered him because he didn´t have to do so before – and orbed to P 3 only seconds before the door was opened.

The only thing that followed was a dropped tea can and a long sigh:

"I should've known he would run as soon as he woke and felt fit enough. That's what they all do."

* * *

"So, he's with your friend Alan?" Piper said somehow relieved after she had listened to Daryl.

"Yeah," Daryl replied happy to hear that Piper was not about to blow his head off.

"Thanks Daryl. I call him," Piper told Daryl gratefully. She was glad that they had such a good friend to the family. He had often helped them before. She wouldn´t have thought that Daryl could help with the latest Chris problem but she grateful that he could help.

"Yeah, do that. I am glad that I could help," Daryl replied happily.

"Thank you so much Daryl! I'll call you back later. Once he got his lecture about going to parties!" Piper assured her cop friend because Daryl had told her what kind of kids landed by Alan and his wife. She knew now that Chris had been drinking or at least at a bar and it let her anger at him grow again. How could he go partying while they had to worry about some thread that could hurt her little angel?

"Go easy on him Piper – he has probably a major hangover!" Daryl laughed. He tried to lighten the mood. He seemed to have gotten Chris into major trouble.

Although he hardly knew the guy and the sisters spoke seldom good things about him Chris was just a kid to Daryl and he had busted his little late night secret to none other than Piper Halliwell. Daryl felt a small bit of pity for the boy which was instantly replaced by a 'serves him right' feeling.

How could the whitelighter go partying while the sisters had to worry about whatever evil there was to worry about? Daryl didn´t think it was fair but it was also not his business.

"We'll see! Bye Daryl" Piper said her goodbyes.

"Bye Piper," Daryl replied and hung up.

Piper set the phone down. She sighed. She couldn´t believe what she was just told. Chris was in a bar last night? He didn´t come here when she called because he had to sleep off his hangover? Something wasn´t right.

Yeah, she was pissed. If it was true that Chris chose his hobby over saving Wyatt then she had to doubt his believability concerning everything he had told them so far. If he just went for a drink and ignored their calls then saving Wyatt wasn´t his priority.

But everything she had seen so far of her whitelighter had told her differently. He wouldn´t place Wyatt second. He never would although she didn´t understand why. Yet his determination of saving her little angel was unwavering. There had to be another reason for his absence.

"What's wrong honey?" Phoebe asked her curiously. She had seen the look on Piper´s face while she was answering the phone. Whatever Daryl had told her sister it didn´t seem to be a good thing but it definitely had something to do with Chris.

"Yeah, you sound like you found him with Daryl's help," Paige added as an afterthought. She was also curious about how Daryl could have found the whitelighter if the Charmed Ones themselves had not been able to do it.

"Right, that's what it is. Daryl's friend Alan picked Chris up after a long night in a bar," Piper summarized shortly with a roll of her eyes. She couldn´t believe it even after the words left her mouth.

"Oh. Poor guy. I didn't know that he was this depressed to get drunk!" Phoebe said shocked. She didn´t expect this and she didn´t think that Chris was that kind of guy.

"Yeah, we were cruel to him. Now let's bring him home," Piper declared but her anger was evident.

"Huh?" Paige asked stunned, "Are you ill?"

"Home?" Phoebe joined in the questioning. She couldn´t believe her ears. First Chris was drinking because of his misery and now Piper wanted to get him home? What was going on here?

"Yeah, well let's face it. He is here to save Wyatt. He has left his time to help us. And yes, he can be a real pain in the ass but right now I think that we are responsible for his wellbeing. As Daryl said he is just a kid. I can't help it but I feel the need to help kids," Piper explained as if she needed to justify her way of thinking. Yet again she was surprised just how much she could worry about Chris.

"I see, honey. It's just to hear that from you," Phoebe trailed off unsure of what to add.

"Yeah, at least you seemed to well, um, dislike him or so," Paige added carefully and expected Piper to yell at her.

"What about Wyatt? I would help him in every time line. Why not helping other kids too?" Piper replied and was getting angry at her sisters. This wasn´t the time to question her attitude, was it?

"Okay, you're right Piper! For me it is a great joy to be able to help orphans or troubled kids. Mainly because I know how you feel when you are not near your biological parents," Paige relented with a grim look on her face as she remembered her own childhood.

"I'm in too. Let's help him. I mean we told him to take it easy. I can't help him when he misunderstands that phrase. But now we make sure that he has some free time besides going to bars!" Phoebe replied in a tone that implied that once she set her mind on something she would do everything to accomplish this goal.

"Thanks!" Piper smiled at them. She was glad that she had those two as her sisters. She could always count on them.

"No prob," Paige replied and shrugged, "We´re family."

"Yeah, we know how you feel. And besides maybe we are not so innocent in this whole affair," Phoebe reminded them and added in a silly voice: "Let's call his "angel".

Paige rolled her eyes at that phrase. Piper just smiled again and called the number she had gotten from Daryl.

* * *

_In the meantime in another house:_

"What do you mean he's gone?" Helen asked her husband and looked at him with big eyes.

"Well, as in he is away. As usual," Alan answered her and couldn´t meet her eyes.

"Oh no. He was in no condition to go. Alan, why didn't you stop him?" Helen accused her husband.

"Because he was already gone that's why!" Alan replied and raised his voice.

"Great. So what do we do now?" Helen sighed. She knew that it wasn´t really Alan´s fault. The boy could have snuck out anyhow regardless of Alan or her watching over him.

Just at that moment the phone rang and ended their argument.

"I'll go and answer it," Helen said quickly, glad that they got an interruption and left to pick up the phone.

"Hello? This is Helen van Linde. What can I do for you?" Helen answered annoyed but politely.

"Hello, this is Piper Halliwell. Can I speak to Alan please?" Piper asked anxiously.

"Sure but for what reason?" Helen replied getting even more annoyed.

"Oh, it's about Chris," Piper said quickly. _"Why can't this woman just give the phone to the guy?"_

"Chris - as in the boy Chris?" Helen answered now interested.

"Yeah exactly," Piper was getting more anxiously if even possible. She just wanted to tell them that they would get over there and pick Chris up. Or orb over there but they did not need to know that.

"What's about him? Are you his mother?" Helen asked suspiciously. Helen was always careful especially after the boys ran and some supposedly mother or father asked for them. There was always a reason to things and Helen did not want to take the chance of relaying information of the boys to the wrong people.

_"If I want to talk to him I have to pretend to be it,"_Piper thought and replied in her most honest voice: "Yeah, I'm his mother. How's my son?"

Paige and Phoebe exchanged confused glances in the background but they stayed silent beside the phone.

"Oh, sorry Mrs. Halliwell I didn't know that you are his mother," Helen apologized still careful. _"So now we are in trouble Alan,"_ she thought, _"I don't want to deal with an angry mother."  
_  
"Can I talk to him _**please**_?" Piper nearly exploded. _"Why is she avoiding the subject?"_

"Er, um there is a ... well; there is ... a kind of difficulty..." Helen stuttered. It seemed as if the woman was really concerned about the boy.

"What? Give me my son! NOW!" Piper demanded angrily. She had enough of this delay.

Phoebe and Paige held their breathes. Why was Piper this angry?

"Um, Mrs. Halliwell?" Alan had taken the phone over. "I am sorry to tell you but your boy ran away a few minutes ago." Alan had tried to make it easier and simply told the woman what she wanted to hear.

"He what? No, that can't be possible!" Piper nearly screamed. She couldn´t believe her "luck". Why would Chris run away from people who helped him? Something was seriously wrong.

"I am afraid it is true," Alan tried to sound normal but he was also worried about the boy.

"Piper what is it?" Phoebe whispered afraid of the answer. Her agitated sister was worrying her.

"He ran away...," Piper repeated in a monotone voice as she held the receiver a bit awkwardly.

Paige and Phoebe exchanged another worried look.

"Yeah, if there is anything we can do to help you...," Alan suggested. He felt guilty but he knew that there was little to nothing that he or his wife could do.

"NO! ... Err, I mean thanks; I take care of it now. Thanks for caring! I really appreciate it," and with that Piper finished the conversation.

Alan was stunned. He hadn´t expected this kind of reaction but he understood her feelings. Every mother worried all her life about her children. So he only sighed and gave Helen an "I-dunno-but-she-will-fix-it" look. Even if she had not been his mother Alan was glad that he had tried to help the boy.

"Piper, what is it?" Phoebe asked as soon as Piper had ended the call.

She was greeted with a worried glaze of her older sister.

"He is missing again," Paige concluded sadly and let her shoulders sag.

* * *

Chris had orbed to P3. He needed to change his clothes, get a better outfit, maybe drink something – no alcohol this time - and visit the manor. He wasn´t sure when he had been there for the last time.

Who knew what his demonic friends would do now? He needed the spell to check on them. How was it possible that he was so lost in this game? It was as if the rules were changed while he was too busy playing to notice it.

He searched for his stuff and was stunned when he found only one remaining t-shirt in the backroom.

_"Where the hell did my stuff go?"_he thought but was too busy to care further.

As soon as he changed without showering (because it would do no good if he smelled too good in the underworld and because his cuts could sting) and took off his bandages he orbed to the attic.

He stood in front of the book and began searching for the spell because he couldn´t for the life of him remember the exact wording which was odd. He had casted it so many times before – at least he believed that he did – that he should have learned it by heart by now.

_"Why is it this hot in here?"_ he thought, _"Where are the sisters? Oh no, I forgot to check on them. But I think they are in no danger. They wanted to lay low... I check on them later. Right now Wyatt's more important and his safety."_

He searched the book.

* * *

"So where is Chris now?" Phoebe asked million dollar question.

"I dunno but...," Piper replied and stopped midsentence because little Wyatt who was next to them and had just awoken from a quick nap giggled.

"Cwis! Cwis!" he squealed.

"What is it sweetie?" Piper asked and walked over to him. She lifted him to her hip and stroked his hair. "Are you hungry?"

"Cwis!" Wyatt squealed and orbed both of them to the attic.

"Piper!" Phoebe screamed shocked. She stared at the spot where her sister and nephew had been only seconds before.

"Wyatt!" Paige shouted just as shocked as Phoebe. She looked over to Phoebe.  
_  
(A/N: I could stop here but I am in a very good mood right now!)_

* * *

_"Why are they screaming?"_Chris wondered and wanted to orb downstairs to check on them.

But as soon as he concentrated he got a major headache and grabbed a nearby chair to steady himself. What was wrong with him? He had orbed from Alan´s place here so why was it so difficult to orb downstairs?

He looked up to see blue orbs which made him shut his eyes in pain from the bright light. Never before had he had problems with blue orbing lights. He wondered shortly if he developed migraine.

"Cwis!" Wyatt squealed again and pointed towards Chris who was still standing next to the chair.

Piper whirled around and then she saw him.

He was awkwardly there half standing half sitting. His eyes were closed as if he was in pain and he had a strong grip on the chair next to him. He didn't even look up as they entered. Piper noticed that he didn´t look so hot and that his hands were covered in scratches.

"Cwis?" Wyatt asked once more. This time it was directed towards Chris.

"Yeah Wyatt, I'm good." Chris answered through clenched teeth as if he knew that his brother wanted to ask him how he felt.

But neither Wyatt nor Piper were convinced or fooled by his words.

"Well, apparently you're not young man! You have some serious explaining to do!" Piper announced. She was angry but she couldn´t keep the worry out of her voice as she looked at Chris. She stood a bit off with Wyatt still on her hips and waited for him to explain himself. She was ready to give him the lecture of his life.

"Piper?" he replied and straightened. Way too quickly as his brain told him. His opened eyes seemed to move fast or the room seemed to swim in and out of focus he couldn´t tell. He felt as if he was on a ship sailing along a turbulent sea. He believed that he even swayed.

"Chris, are you alright?" Piper asked concerned as she took in his appearance. She even took one step forward.

_"Was this concern in her voice?"_ Chris thought dryly, _"Unbelievable."_

"Answer me. How are you?" Piper demanded worriedly. She thought that being angry felt better and would get him to cooperate sooner. As if Chris would ever do anything they told him.

Chris steadied himself once more and looked up. The room stopped spinning. He saw concern all over her face. Shocked he cleared his throat and answered her almost a hundred percent truthfully.

"Just a bit dizzy," he admitted and added as he looked into her concerned face again: "But I'm fine now."

"Cwis ow!" Wyatt said upset and pointed his little fingers into Chris´ direction.

"No, Wyatt - I am fine!" Chris insisted and straightened some more to prove his point. He did not let go of the chair though.

"Hey, cut the crap. I know about it," Piper told him. She was over her concern and in full lecture mood. If Chris was not going to tell her the truth then she would tell him all she knew and force him to heed her words.

"Know what?" he asked uncertainly. What could she possibly mean by that statement? Future secrets? _The_secret? Chris began to panic. This could not be happening. Sure he had no sound memories of the time before the 'accident' but he couldn´t have spilled his secret, could he?

"You were in a bar and got into a fight! How could you do such a thing - here and not in the underworld? Are you out of your mind? What if you were arrested? How should we explain who you are and where you are from? Tell me!" Piper shouted now totally angry instead of worried. She finally drew in a breath and waited a bit to see if he would answer.

Chris relaxed a bit and rolled his eyes. _"That´s what she knows. Does she really believe what she says? I - in a bar fight?"_

"Do you have nothing to say to that?" Piper pressed as she was certain that he would not defend himself. She stomped with her foot to show how impatiently she was.

"Wait Piper! You misunderstood something...," he began quickly as he sensed her mood. _"Great now I need to explain it to her. But my head is like mud right now and I need to meet Jo. I can´t deal with her now."_

"Oh really? Then tell me why Daryl called and told me that you were found after a bar fight by one of his friends?" Piper cut in angrily. She had Wyatt on her hip and the other arm on her hip.

"I dunno. But Piper listen...," he tried again to calm her down. He was seriously not in the mood to stay here and keep up the questioning if there were more important things to do which there were. He had to get rid of her.

"No, Chris, not here - not now! We go downstairs and discuss it there! Come on!" Piper demanded and made to go downstairs.

He looked at her and would have shaken his head if he wasn´t so worried about his health. He was about to argue further with her, tell her that he didn´t have the time but a demon shimmered in.

The demon wore black clothes. It was a white male, about as tall as Chris and armed with an energy ball.

"Where have you been Matt?" he asked accusingly, "What are you doing here?"

_"Nuts," _Chris thought, _"I am already late. I cannot let him stay alive."  
_  
"Who are you and what do you want?" Piper said angrily at the demon after she had turned quickly into his direction. She did not know a guy called Matt but it appeared that the demon talked to Chris.

Wyatt immediately raised his shield as he sensed the danger they were in. He clutched to his mother.

"A Charmed One?" the demon asked incredulously. Mere moments later he was choked.

"Huh?" Piper wondered out loud and tried to make out the source of the magic. She searched the attic.

"Piper, get Wyatt downstairs!" Chris shouted at her while he held his arm in front of him. His hand was curled into a fist that seemed to suffocate the demon. He knew that he just gave a whole new set of questions for him and his powers but he did not care. He needed to kill the demon before anything – anything at all, as he was not so sure what could happen – could happen.

"But Chris!" Piper protested immediately. _"Is this a wiccan power?" _She felt angry and worried about him at the same time.

"NOW!" he demanded angrily. Why would she never simply do anything he asked her to? It was not like he was asking her to hand Wyatt over to that demon, damnit!

"You are their whitelighter! You are a liar! A bastard, a liar! I'll kill you!" the demon hissed and conjured another energy ball.

"Try it!" Chris said defiantly. He still got the hold on the demon but he could not prevent him from conjuring energy balls. Something was wrong here. "Piper what are you still doing here? Are you deaf?" Why wouldn´t she heed his words? Why? He was quickly getting angry. If she stayed another minute he would have to orb her off himself.

Piper was stunned at how rude he could be. She stood where she was, rooted to the spot with Wyatt sitting on her hip. And the demon worried her. _"How did he know about Chris? What was this all about?"  
_  
Suddenly the demon grinned. His energy balls were getting even bigger and he took a small step forward.

"Seems that you are too weak to kill me liar!" he smiled as he took another small step forward showing that Chris´ hold of him was quickly weakening.

_"Oh no,"_Chris thought as his power faded. He couldn't hold the demon any longer. He needed a break. Soon but not now. How could he underestimate the situation? What was going on with him? Why weren´t his powers working? What was wrong?

Piper saw the look on Chris´ face and for a moment she thought that he was about to keel over. She was safely inside of Wyatt´s magical bubble but Chris was far away from it. If he wasn´t able to hold the demon off or vanquish him soon he would be...

She couldn´t let him be killed in front of her eyes. Not after all of this. She still needed to lecture him and she wanted answers. Lots of them! She watched stunned as the scene in front of her unfolded.

With his last strength Chris put his right hand out and sent a telekinetic blast towards the demon. As soon as the attack faded away Chris´ knees buckled and he fell over. He crashed down, panted and had to hold himself up using both of his hands.

But this attack didn't destroy the demon or face it for that matter.

The demon saw his predicted opening. He knew how weak Chris was. He threw both energy balls at Chris.

"Die!" he screamed with fire and ire in his eyes. No one betrayed his master. No one.

Chris closed his eyes. So this was his end. Died on his mission. Died in a pathetic battle with a lower level demon or whatever. Just f**king died because he lacked the knowledge of the past few hours, days, or whatever. Because he underestimated the situation. Because he thought that he could handle a single demon.

He should have known better than to use his Wiccan power in front of Piper. He should have known that this was a minion of Jo. He should have known that he was away too long. He should have known that his absence brought up suspicion. He should have done or realized so many different things.

Yet here he was. Fallen. Defeated. Exhausted. Easy prey for the demon. He was going to die. And none of his powers seemed to work. He would die as a helpless child right in front of Piper and Wyatt.

So much for a happy ending…

_Tbc..._

Please review! I am curious what you think about this.

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	4. Filler

A/N: I am so sorry for the delay. I really am. I want to thank everyone for reviewing though. I try to keep it up. I had some problems with this chapter. It is a kind of filler before the Chris angst begins... I hope it is good enough... Here we go:

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 4: Filler**

The blue energy balls hit its target. They connected with a loud and ugly sound and unleashed strong power. The room was lit and everyone was blinded for a second. The power of the balls could have eliminated a human body at once.

But it wasn´t the intended target it should hit. It was a different one. It was...

* * *

Paige and Phoebe were still standing downstairs staring at the spot where Wyatt had orbed Piper off only a few minutes before.

"Did you hear that?" Paige asked Phoebe all of a sudden as they waited for a magical sign of their sister and nephew.

"That sound? Yeah it seems to be an attack!" Phoebe replied shocked.

"Do you think Piper and Wyatt are up there?" Paige said immediately and feared the worst. They had no idea what had happened.

"I hope not! Let's go and see! Grab some potions!" Phoebe shouted and began climbing the stairs two at a time. They needed to find out what was going on and fast.

"Got them. I'm coming!" Paige shouted back and hurried after Phoebe.

Together they stormed up the stairs eager to figure out what was going on. But not even thinking about orbing to be faster.

"Don't you dare to hit any of my boys!" Piper screamed at the top of her lungs. She was standing protectively in front of Chris who was sitting on his knees and hands barely believing that he was still alive.

"Try me, witch! You should be really lucky that that boy of yours has a very powerful shield!" the demon hissed pissed off. He had missed his target only because the twice blessed one had blocked the deadly attack.

Piper, Wyatt and Chris were now all together shielded through Wyatt's shield from any attacks of the demon. Piper stood in front of Wyatt and Wyatt stood protectively before a prone Chris.

The little Halliwell had orbed himself and Piper in front of the energy ball and as soon as they had rematerialized he had raised his shield. The ball made a "poof" sound and faded away without harming any of the three.

"What do you want from Chris? Or are you after Wyatt?" Piper demanded. She was ready to blow the demon up and was at the same time safe behind her son's shield.

"That won't help you," The demon gestured towards her hands. He was not afraid of one Charmed One.

"Wanna bet?" Piper threatened and took a small step forward and raised her hands some more.

"Very well. I guess you don't blow me up with your boy watching," the demon said and gestured towards Wyatt, "We wouldn't want the little boy to watch a bloodbath, would we?"

"Normally no but if you try to harm him I will!" Piper replied and meant it.

"Okay. Well let's just say Chris has made false friends, witch! He should not have gone down there as you would call our home. Make sure that you restrain him because the next time he comes there he is DEAD! You hear me? DEAD!" the demon threatened and crossed his arms in front of him.

"Do NOT say such words in front of my little sunshine! And you are not going to lay a hand on either of them!" Piper threatened back. She flexed her fingers.

"_So Chris was in the underworld in a bar? But how can he be found by humans then?" _She tried to figure out what had happened.

"Yeah what will you do witch? I already told you that that power of yours does NOT work on me!" The demon said unimpressed. He still stood there with his arms crossed and a lazy stance. It seemed that both parties were at a standoff.

"Wyatt sweetie? Will you check on Chris? Mommy is back immediately. She just has to tell the bad guy over there where the exit is!" Piper said to Wyatt as she kneeled next to him. She was totally ignoring the demon. She even had her back turned to him.

"The exit?" The demon laughed dryly. "That's too funny!"

Wyatt nodded and walked over to Chris who still lay on the floor. He was breathing heavily and it seemed that he was totally out. Wyatt sat next to his brother and looked at him closely.

Piper stood up, turned around, faced the demon and took a step forward. She raised her hands.

"Oh now I am scared!" the demon said in a faked frightened voice and reached his hands to his face, "Please don't kill me," and he added a dark "bi**h."

"Okay how about THIS?" Piper answered and blew the demon up. But the demon did not vanquish so easily.

"See I told you!" the demon hissed. He held out his arms for her to see that he was completely unharmed. He flexed his own hands.

"Maybe I can't vanquish you with one shot. But I can destroy you eventually!" Piper continued blowing him up.

"I doubt it witch!" the demon hissed again unimpressed and conjured a new energy ball.

"And THAT won't help you!" Piper hissed back all the while still blowing the demon up.

"Maybe, but that child of yours tires too!" the demon informed her and threw energy balls at the force field.

"Okay let's see who wins!" Piper said determined to blow him up before he could reach either Wyatt or Chris. Neither side was winning ground, however.

"WE WIN!" new voices suddenly shouted and the demon was vanquished with a loud sound as glass connected with his skin and dark liquid etched the demon away.

"Huh?" Pipe wondered out loud and turned around slowly lowering her hands as she recognized her sisters.

"Are you alright Piper?" Phoebe shouted over to her. Phoebe quickly scanned the attic and noticed that there were no other demons.

Paige who had thrown at least four potions looked over to her too.

"Phoebe! Paige! Thank god!" Piper replied finally and sagged with relief. For all the confidence she had shown she was not sure if she could have won on her own.

"Err... you're welcome Piper!" Paige said irritated and began to walk over to her.

"No, I mean... just forget it!" Piper babbled still confused about the events. She sank to her knees.

"Cwis!" Wyatt said suddenly. He had dropped his shield as soon as he had noticed that his aunts had vanquished the bad guy. He was currently at Chris´ side and babbled incoherently.

"What's wrong with him anyway?" Paige asked as she reached them.

"I dunno. He said take Wyatt and leave but Wyatt decided to orb back to him and protect him. And that was good because he was lying down here and did not stir and ...," Piper blurted out as she was slowly beginning to grasp what had happened and more importantly what could have happened.

"Piper was he hit?" Phoebe asked suddenly as she appeared next to them.

"No, I don't think so...," Piper replied honestly, "I mean Wyatt raised his shield and..."

"Cwis! Cwis!" Wyatt whined and tugged at Chris´ sleeve. "Mommy! Cwis!"

"What?" Piper whirled around again and focused on her boy and Chris.

"_This can't be! He wasn't hit. But why doesn't he stand up and says that he's fine?"_

Tbc...

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	5. Poison?

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 5: poison?**

"What´s wrong with him?" Phoebe asked as she knelt down next to Wyatt and inspected the prone form of a panting and unresponsive Chris.

"I dunno. He … I mean he was not hit…," Piper repeated and got closer. She was also inspecting Chris.

"Chris? Chris?" Piper shook him gently. "Chris wake up." Her voice was careful and soft devoid of all the anger from before. Her face was worried. She added an almost heartbreaking "Will you please?"

"Cwis!" Wyatt shouted again, still tugging at his sleeve, "Cwis!"

But Chris didn´t stir.

* * *

_Everything was blurring. His whole vision. Everywhere he looked nothing seemed to stay in one spot long enough for him to make it out._

"_Am I dead?"_

_This thought kept him busy. It was no pleasant thought but it was the first that occurred to him. He was feeling miserable._

"_No I felt no impact. He must have missed me."_

_This thought confused him. What impact? What missed him? Who was he? What was going on? But as soon as he thought over his thought it was gone._

_His headache was much worse than ever before. He had no time to think about anything because he tried to force the pain to the back of his mind like he had learned to do as he was a captive in one of Wyatt´s fun parks._

"_Maybe I should sleep more. Just a little bit."_

_A new thought. Yes he was definitely tired. No, he was beyond tired. He could hardly keep his eyes open. But he did not want to open his eyes anyway because everything still spun around him. Sleep sounded like heaven right now._

_Suddenly his stomach growled._

"_Oh and I could need something to eat."_

_Hungry was an all too familiar experience. How often had he starved before? Why hadn´t he eaten this time? _

_It turned into pain._

"_Maybe not. I don´t feel so good."_

_His head and stomach kept aching._

_Now this thought was not good. Everything ached. His head and his stomach were his main concerns now. He shouldn´t feel so bad. _

"_I shouldn´t have drunken so much. The demons should not have noticed anything one way or another."_

_This thought finally brought some sense to him. Of course he was responsible for what had happened to him. He had been drunk. It was just a simple but stupid hangover! Wait a minute... demons? Alcohol? What was going on?_

_An image of the demon attack appeared at the back of his head._

"_Or they would. Why should he follow me home otherwise?"_

_Home?_

_These three thoughts confused him again. A demon in black had followed him. But from where had he followed him? And where was home? He didn´t have a home for almost more than ten years now. _

"_No not home. Argh my head."_

_He was sure that he had no home. And he was sure that his headache was worse than ever._

_- Cwis! -_

"_Who´s that?"_

_He thought he had a hold of the name that belonged to that voice but he quickly lost it. He tried to focus on his injuries once more._

_- Cwis! -_

"_Who is such annoying?"_

_That stupid sound disrupted his chain of thoughts. He was getting annoyed and angry._

_A loud sound._

"_Ah the demon is ... yeah where´s that damn brat?"_

_Chris was sure now that the voice belonged to some young boy. And his sudden thought turned back to the demon in black. He thought that maybe something had happened._

_- Mommy! Cwis! -_

"_Mommy?"_

_Nothing. It doesn´t ring a bell. Whose mother? Who is that kid?_

_- Chris? Chris? Chris wake up. Will you please?-_

_- Cwis! Cwis! – _

_Suddenly he remembered as if a storm had been turned loose._

_Wyatt! Piper! The demon! Phoebe! Paige! His mission!_

_Everything came back as a thunder._

_He groaned and tried to open his tired eyes and force himself back into reality._

* * *

They heard a small groan and saw Chris stir.

"Chris?" Piper asked afraid that she had heard wrong. She had her hand hovering over his back and dared not to breathe.

Paige and Phoebe came closer and watched.

"Cwis? Cwis?!" Wyatt patted Chris´ arm.

"Hey Wy. Are... you... alright?" Chris whispered nearly not audible but his brother understood him.

"Cwis." Wyatt replied happily and got to his feet.

"Ok buddy," Chris sighed and continued to lay there. "That´s... good... to hear." He was still panting.

"Chris? Why don´t you open your eyes?" Piper asked worriedly as he kept them closed but talked to Wyatt. He was lying on his front but his head was turned sideways.

"Too bright the light?" Paige suggested, "Maybe still a hangover."

Piper shot her a glare that told her to "shut up" because she knew that Chris was NOT in a normal bar and NOT in a normal bar fight. He was down in the underworld. Again. Alone. In this condition. He could have gotten himself killed. And she could not get rid of the feeling that it was somehow her fault.

After all: He wanted to save Wyatt and did everything to do it. Even without them. Did that make her responsible in a way? She was sure it did.

As Chris heard his mother tell him to open his eyes he was hit with a memory of his childhood and he felt odd.

"_No need to sink into times of happier days Chris,"_ he reminded himself dryly, _"Get back to business!"_

He opened his eyes just as Piper had reached out her hand to feel his temperature or check his pulse or whatever.

"Hey Piper, I´m fine," Chris told her and backed away, "And Paige I have NO hangover. But thanks."

He put his elbows under him and pushed himself up. He got into a sitting position just as his head screamed "bad idea" at him and the room began to spin.

He tried to hide his discomfort but failed miserably. At least Wyatt noticed and grabbed Chris´ hand in his in a small effort to help his brother.

"Cwis?" he asked his soon to be born baby brother worriedly.

_And when Wyatt knew then Piper knew at 100 per cent..._

"Feeling dizzy?" Piper asked him shortly after he had feared it. She even sounded a bit worried and she was still sitting uncomfortably close to him.

_Yep exactly..._

"No," he lied and was desperate to feel better soon. He did not need her to worry about him. They needed to keep Wyatt safe. Always Wyatt.

"Chris?" Phoebe interrupted in a concerned voice. Even she was so close that he threatened to feel suffocating by their proximity.

"Err yeah Phoebe?" he replied. He was really getting nervous.

_Why were they all here anyway? Since when did they hunt demons together again instead of following their dreams of their personal lives? That does so not make sense... Arghh my head... _He resisted to reach up and press his palms to his throbbing head. That would surely give him away.

"When was the time you felt better?" she asked out of the blue.

"Huh?" Piper asked before Chris could react. She turned shortly to Phoebe, looked at her quizzically and turned back to watch Chris. She waited expectantly for his answer.

"Well, I can feel that you definetely feel not well young man. And with feel I mean really feel!" Phoebe said and gestured with her hand to her head and stomach while she wore a concerned and even pained look.

_Shit! That´s exactly what I need now an empath with my pain! Great!_

"It´s nothing. Maybe I was hit...," Chris began quickly without thinking but was cut off by Piper.

"No, Wyatt here protected you with his shield," Piper told him. She pointed to Wyatt, smiled at her little boy and turned her eyes back to him.

Wyatt squealed. That sound made Chris´ head hurt even more and he needed all of his strength not to clutch his head.

_Should I be proud of Wyatt for protecting me or angry because he could have given away my biggest secret? Angry at Piper for not following my orders? Angry at the potion for not blocking Phoebe´s powers? Angry at Paige for such a statement? Furious with me for being so weak? Or..._

"Chwis?" Wyatt asked, tugged at Chris´ sleeve again and interrupted successfully Chris´ thoughts.

"I´m fine Wyatt," Chris answered immediately and grabbed the little hand. He gave it a reassuring squeeze before he flinched back at Piper´s sudden outburst, "Cut the crap mister!"

"Pardon?" Chris replied shocked and looked at her in pure disbelief.

_Oh no not that look and that gesture... Please not! _He visibly shrank back and tried to appear smaller than he was. He knew his mother from the future but this version of Piper was almost as fearsome as her in her best days.

"You are in serious problems! We need to discuss a few things. But first of all you need to get better and no I don´t know just because of Phoebe. Everything of you screams that you need a break young man!" Piper began her lecture that was long overdue.

_I know what follows..._

"So you can take a shower. Then we have a nice meal and after that you sleep! Hear that SLEEP! REST! NO DEMON HUNTING!" Piper was just getting started. She was sitting next to him and poked a finger at his arms at the last part of her lecture.

He winced at the sound of her voice and even the small poke hurt.

_I hate that... She is going to make me eat her soup..._

"Are we done? So let´s start moving guys!" Piper demanded and quickly got to her feet. She stood impatiently above him and looked down.

Phoebe smiled at her. "I could not have told it better Piper," she praised her sister and got to her feet too.

"I second that!" Paige agreed, stood up and added "It´s for your own good Chris." Also it was meant as comfort it sounded more like a threat to his ears.

_Yeah say you... _He did not need that right now. Couldn´t he just get back to business?

"Okay so orb down in the bathroom. Paige fetches you some clothes of Leo," Piper suggested and planned everything. She looked at him to see if he would object.

_Orb? Leo? Is she crazy?_

At his look she waited for an answer. But he still hesitated.

_I will never wear a thing of Leo! She can´t force me. I loathe that man. Rather dying in the cold than wearing clothes of him. _

"Chris what´s wrong?" Paige asked as she saw how his eyes got darker.

"Why are you so angry?" Phoebe wanted to know. She could feel his rising anger and she was not sure what about Piper´s proposal had set him off.

_Here we go. I have to watch my thoughts. They project my feelings to Phoebe. She does not need to know how horrible Leo can be. But she has already seen him beating me once... No you can not compare that with the future. I don´t mind the physical abuse anymore. At least not since Wyatt´s little test for me and my moral... But what hurts the most is the emotional abuse... STOP! Not now... _If he could not even control his chain of thoughts then how was he able to hide his emotions from Phoebe?

"Chwis?" Wyatt sounded more worried than everybody else in the room as his brother kept silent.

_My head...Oh no... they didn´t put anything in my drink did they? Well they sent a demon after me so... oh no... _Chris couldn´t keep his twirling thoughts on one subject.

The sisters and Wyatt waited tensely for an answer. But instead of looking up to them and tell them that they should quit babying him Chris stared into nothing. Lost in his own thoughts.

"What is he thinking about Pheebs?" Piper asked as she waved a hand in front of Chris eyes but got no response. She began to worry again. Maybe he had suffered some kind of head injury? He certainly seemed odd.

"Well, first he was angry but now he seems to be very worried," Phoebe sighed. "But I can´t read thoughts." She was sad that she couldn´t get anything concrete.

"Maybe we should take him and put him in a bed. He looks exhausted," Paige suggested, "and we should get him a doctor of some sort." She did not like how worn down he looked. He seemed to need a check up.

Chris only heard pieces of the conversation. Too lost in his thoughts about possible methods of the demons to test him or get rid of him.

_Hell... I spent way too much time down there... They could have done anything..._

"Okay. Could you orb him into my bedroom?" Piper agreed quickly. She was eager to get something out of Chris but she also wanted to make sure that the episode of last night did not leave any damage, "I want to keep an eye on him."

"I see. But are you sure? You could take mine," Phoebe offered. She was still a bit uncertain about Piper´s new attitude about Chris.

"No, it´s good. Just orb him down will ya? I take Wyatt," Piper answered and picked her little boy up, "Mommy and you will go downstairs now, okay? Chris is coming too!"

Wyatt looked at her and gave a tiny nod as if to show that he had understood her. Piper smiled at him but the worry never left her eyes.

"Okay," Paige conceded and walked over to Chris. She bent down to him and put her hand on his upper arm. She began to dissolve into blue orbs.

Somewhere in his thinking he heard the words orbing again.

_No way they orb me anywhere! That is so not going to happen! _He was not sure why but he just knew that orbing was not right at the moment.

"No orbing," Chris said suddenly to no one in particular. He was still lost in his inner turmoil.

"Huh?" Piper whirled around to him and asked her sisters, "What did he say?"

"I dunno," Paige answered confused and stopped orbing. She looked down at him and asked, "Chris?"

"No orbing," Chris repeated in a monotone voice, "It makes me nauseous. No orbing, **please,**" Chris nearly begged now. His faraway look returned to the here and now and he looked at Paige´s hand that was still on his upper arm.

"It´s okay Chris," Piper soothed him and rubbed his back. She had come over again and stood behind him. She shot a questioning look at her sisters. "What´s wrong with him?" she whispered.

Chris gaze left Paige´s hand and began to turn around to focus on the rubbing hand on his back.

"I dunno. But he sounds like a frightened child," Phoebe answered carefully. She could not feel anything new of him but the way he acted now scared the hell out of her. Something was definitely wrong.

"Do you think he has hit his head?" Paige asked worried. She kept her hand where it was but refrained from orbing. She looked at Piper.

"I dunno," Piper replied and kept soothing Chris.

"_What´s wrong with him?"_ Piper thought more worried than ever before _"This is so not Chris."_

_TBC..._

You can tell me meanwhile what you think of this update! Please leave a review!

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	6. Complications

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 6: Complications**

_That´s great… Just great…My body hurts nearly everywhere and I act like a child... that´s perfect... Why can´t I change that? It´s like I have no control over my own body... But I can speak... only the words sound so childish... That´s not me... They must have me poisoned... Otherwise ... I think I am going nuts... _

Chris was really having trouble now to do anything normally. He was going crazy.

"Maybe we should take him to a doctor?" Phoebe suggested very worried now: _"Why is he acting so strange? And since when can I sense anything from him?"_

"Yeah take him to a hospital. If he hit his head that´s my first step to do," Paige agreed and was worried too: _"What has happened? Three days gone and everything changed... He can´t fight demons alone anymore and acts like a child... Only thing missing is that he starts... no way not him... He would have been careful wouldn´t he?"_

"Okay Chris let´s bring you downstairs to my car. Then we see a doctor in a hospital and..." Piper began now scared: _"Whoever that demon was and whatever he meant by what he said it is definitely nothing good. Chris seems to be hurt in a way I haven´t figured out yet. If it is a concussion and temporary damage to his brain then a visit to a doctor would be our best option."_

As soon as Chris heard the words 'doctor' and 'hospital' he got rigid under Piper´s still rubbing hand and Paige´s hand.

"No doctor! No hospital!" Chris whined desperately.

"Huh?" Piper looked closer at him. _"Did he just say something?"_

"I... I´m fine," Chris tried to assure him but he was not even fooling himself. He still sounded like a whining little kid.

_I need to get them to let me go. I need to check on Jo. He could do anything to get to me. Oh no... I need...to get up..._

"No, Chris you are not!" Piper said a little bit angry now. She stopped her soothing gesture and concentrated on her anger again, "You´re not feeling well. And I am not getting worried without a reason! Maybe it has something to do with what you did yesterday young man!"

_Worried about... **ME**? Is she ill? Or worse? Does she know? Oh no! Please not! I need to know!_

"Chris!" Piper scolded him as he tried to get up. She tried to push him back into the sitting position.

_Try to force me to stay down. You won´t blow me up **if** you know who I am!_

He continued to stand up although Piper´s hand on his arm had a big negative influence.

"_What does he want? Why now? If he said that earlier I would have believed him. But not now! He has to follow my orders now. He needs to relax!" _Piper thought angrily and was starting to get worried again. She was switching between emotions so fast that she was almost getting angry at herself.

Wyatt who had watched the whole time in silence decided that his mother was right. His baby brother was hurt. So he got into action.

Just before Chris could stand up fully and fall down again Wyatt hopped to his brother´s side and grabbed Chris´ other arm.

Chris whirled to Wyatt´s side just in time to see his brother orb him and his mother along.

"No!" he managed to croak before he was orbed along. He could not even try to resist he just felt so damn weak.

"What the...?" Piper exclaimed shocked as she was once again orbed off to some place.

"Hey!" Paige shouted as soon as the three of them changed into orbs. She tried to orb with them as she was still holding on to Chris but somehow she didn´t.

"Piper, where are you going?" Phoebe shouted too. She was not fast enough to grab any of them. So she had to stay behind with Paige and look once again to a spot where her sister and nephew as well as her whitelighter had been only moments ago.

But their shouts went unanswered.

* * *

They rematerialized in Piper´s bedroom only a fraction of a second later.

As soon as they set foot on the ground Chris collapsed into Piper´s awaiting arms. He was dizzy and couldn´t hold himself on his feet any longer. But Piper had been expecting his fall and had prevented him from falling flat on his face.

"_Where am I? Oh my bedroom! But who orbed? Chris? Wyatt?" Piper thought confused._

But she was interrupted in her thoughts as Chris whispered weakly.

"I think I am going to be sick...,"

_Oh my god. Why did he orb us? Did he not understand the word nauseous? Oh Wyatt my stomach... Arghh..._

But Wyatt orbed a bucket right under Chris´s nose as he vomited violently into it. Only Piper prevented him from crashing face first into the bucket.

"Oh Chris!" Piper uttered in sympathy. She sat behind him and rubbed his back while she kept him half upright so that he could empty his stomach. _"And I thought that he was wrong but he truly meant it as he said no orbing...Poor boy."_

But Chris did not have much in his stomach which left him with nothing but to puke but bile. He retched for a few more moments while Piper kept rubbing his back.

_Not that I am not grateful for her help but why did she do it? And why did not even Wyatt listen to me when I said no orbing? Oh no it feels like I am going to die..._

Wyatt was very unhappy. His brother was very very sick... And he could do nothing to make it go away... He wanted to cry but knew that Chris´ head hurt too... So he kept quiet and only sniffed as he watched his brother retch. Somewhere in his little mind he knew he should feel guilty for putting Chris through this but he thought that he had helped his brother.

"Piper," Piper heard Phoebe frantically scream at the top of her lungs from the attic, "Where are you now?"

"I´m here!" Piper shouted back but in a somewhat lower voice as she soothed Chris who was still hung over the bucket.

Chris flinched nevertheless at the sound of her voice which resulted only in him retching some more.

"_Poor boy has a headache too...,"_ Piper thought and tried to assess the damage done to Chris.

_Arghh my stomach... My head... Does anything not hurt here? If I can lay a hand on Jo and his demon friends I swear he never sees sunlight again! Arghh... I wish I could just sleep..._

"Chris? Hey Chris? Don´t you sleep now! Stay with me! Chris?!" Piper said rather harshly as she noticed that his eye lids were drooping.

"Huh?" Chris muttered and his eye lids fluttered open. "Whatisit?" he replied rather sluggish.

"Hey.. good boy... Just stay awake will ya?" Piper asked and patted his back, "Do you hear me Chris?"

"Sotired..." Chris admitted and his eye lids began to close again.

"I know... But you need to change your clothes first," Piper informed him gently.

"No," he replied weakly and tried his best to keep his eyes open. _Why would Piper want him to strip? His mind was too fuzzy but this was absurd._

"No? Why?" Piper asked astonished. She had believed he would be glad to change into some clean clothes.

_She can´t see my bruises now... She already thinks that I am hurt... No way. I think that she will tie me to bed until those heal... That´s not an option... I have to kill Jo and his demon friends and find Wyatt´s ..._

"Chris! Stay awake!" Piper said again and slapped him gently on his cheek.

But Chris was already asleep. She saw that his breathing had evened out.

"_At least he has some time off now"_ Piper smiled. "Sleep well," she told him and stopped rubbing his back.

She put the bucket away, dragged Chris over to her bed and laid him down. She refrained from stripping him and let him simply rest.

"Mommy? Chwis?" Wyatt asked and tugged at her sleeve while she was bending down to retrieve a small blanket to cover Chris.

"I don´t know sweetie. If he sleeps well he will be okay tomorrow...," Piper answered her little boy, "At least I hope so."

Wyatt nodded and looked at his soon to be brother proudly. Although injured he had tried to save him. And that was enough for Wyatt to know that his baby brother would do everything to help him. But as a big brother he needed to do the same vice versa. And he swore to himself that he started now. With this version of his brother. He didn´t understand it completely as in why he was bigger than him but he was glad that he was here.

"Will you help me sweetie? We could cook something nice for him. Help him regain some strength," Piper suggested and looked down at her son lovingly.

Wyatt nodded happily. He helped his mother to put Chris under the blanket. Wyatt patted his brother´s arm one last time as he and his mother left the room.

Outside the room Phoebe and Paige waited. They had figured that they should give Piper and Chris some private time.

"So ... how is he?" Phoebe began almost as soon as Piper left Chris´ side.

"He sleeps now... Wyatt orbed us here and after that Chris vomited. But now he sleeps...," Piper sighed, "I don´t know."

"You are a good boy Wyatt!" Phoebe praised her nephew and patted his head lovingly. He was standing next to his mother and had a tiny little hand on her pant leg.

"Do you think he has a concussion?" Paige asked worried and peered into the room at the sleeping form.

"No. But I need to tell you something," Piper gestured downstairs and began to walk down.

"Okay," Paige replied unsure of what would happen. She followed Piper downstairs.

"Oh wait, I forgot one thing!" Piper said suddenly and returned quietly into the room.

After a few minutes she returned with the baby phone.

"He is still sleeping. So let´s get downstairs!"

Piper picked Wyatt up and all of them walked downstairs. In the sitting room they all sat down.

"What is it?" Paige asked as soon as all of them were sitting down and she couldn´t hold back any more.

Piper put Wyatt in his playpen, returned to her seat and started to say: "Well it´s about Chris."

"Do you know what´s wrong with him?" Phoebe interrupted her.

"I think I have a good guess. The demon of this morning. He said something. Something about yesterday."

"Yeah something in how do we kill the Charmed Ones tomorrow?" Paige suggested dryly.

"No, he said that Chris met the wrong guys," Piper informed them in a sour tone.

"I did know it! He should not have gone to a bar like that!" Paige exclaimed.

"Paige! He did not go to a bar. Well not here. He was on the underworld on a research mission. But the demon said that if he comes back again they would kill him!" Piper summarized quickly to set Paige straight and somehow even to defend Chris.

"Oh my god!" Phoebe whispered and put her hand to her mouth.

"Sorry, I didn´t know," Paige relented, "Do you think the demon sent more of his to .. .to kill Chris?" She was almost too afraid to ask.

"No, not now I mean," Piper replied mysteriously.

"Huh? Why? What makes you think that?" Phoebe asked astonished.

"I fear that they might have poisoned him," Piper pointed out. And her expression turned grave.

"Oh," was all that her sisters could think of as they looked into their sister´s eyes.

Tbc...

I hope you are still enjoying this! Please review! I like to know what you think of this story!

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	7. Sick

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 7: Sick**

_Where am I?_

_It´s so cold..._

_No it´s rather hot..._

_And it smells like..._

_Alcohol? Cigarettes? _

_Am I still in the bar?_

_This can´t be! The last thing I can remember was the attic... the book... Another memory loss? Please no!_

"_Matt?"_

"_Jo?"_

"_Hey kiddo! Any plans yet?"_

"_Not really..."_

_What the heck? Can I hear a conversation? Do I suffer some freaking sort of dejavu?_

"_Well then let´s drink... think later!"_

"_Okay!"_

_Oh no! I accepted a drink from him! The only way he could have poisoned me... How can I be this stupid? I should have known! I should have reacted!_

"_See? This drink helps you feel better!"_

"_Yeeahhh"_

"_Geesh! You know what I mean!"_

_But he drank it too... Hmmm... Why isn´t he affected? Did he take an antidote? Is he immune? _

_I saw the barkeeper used the same bottle... Maybe a test? What kind of test? Argh..._

_Even in my dreams I can´t shut my brain off..._

_And after I drank I felt so much better than before... but I don´t remember what I did until sun set... Oh no... What if I did something very wrong? _

_I can´t remember having slept in the last three days... A side effect of the poison? What poison? Who said it was poison?_

_This takes me nowhere..._

_I need the book! Right now! Get up, Chris get up!_

And with that he groaned and stirred. He began to wake up into a painful reality...

* * *

"So it´s poison?" Paige repeated confused. She was not ready to accept that. Poison meant trouble and she did neither like trouble nor poison at the moment.

"What kind of poison? I mean he would not take drugs willingly, would he?" Phoebe asked shocked. But she did not know Chris well; maybe he had taken drugs earlier in his life?

"Drugs? I dunno I thought of some mind controlling potions or ...," Piper suggested and trailed off uncertainly.

"Or?" Paige probed.

"Hmm... Maybe we should call Leo...," Piper muttered and looked at her sisters for advice.

"Are you sure?" Phoebe asked shocked yet again. Piper couldn´t really be serious. "I mean last time they were together both of them wanted to kill each other!"

"Yeah and he did not want to change into any of Leo´s clothes either!" Paige added thoughtfully. She looked at Piper and waited for her reply.

"I know... it´s just I am helpless here...," Piper admitted and looked down.

"We know honey... But maybe we should wait... maybe when he has slept for a few hours... then maybe things turn out okay again...," Phoebe advised her sisters.

"Yeah and maybe it is just a hangover after all!" Paige agreed. She was hoping for the simple reason but when was anything in this house ever easy and simple?

"_Maybe_! You keep saying maybe! But what if he is _MAYBE_ affected by some sort of dark magic?" Piper shot back as her anger threatened to rise again.

"Shh honey...," Phoebe tried to console her. She did not need an angry Piper now.

"Don´t you shh me here!" Piper almost shouted back but it sounded more like a warning hiss.

Wyatt began to cry. He did not like to see his mommy so angry. And he guessed she was worried too. At least as worried as he was about his baby brother´s well being.

"Sorry sweetie... I did not want to raise my voice like this. Mommy is sorry that she scared you," Piper soothed her boy as she picked him up again. "Wyatt, Mommy is ... well a little bit scared... you know?"

Wyatt looked at Piper with sad eyes and nodded. But Piper did not seem to notice she kept talking to her boy in a soothing voice.

"I don´t know what attacked Chris or where he was recently. Anything could have happened to him in the last three days. But worst thing is that I am worried that those demons will use him to get you sweetie. Maybe the big threat is those demons and their master plan to get either Chris or you. I don´t know how exactly but I will not let them take either one of you, okay sweetie? Mommy keeps an eye on you and your new friend Chris. Well sweetie, why do you like him so all of a sudden? ... Never mind... Problem is that I am feeling very helpless now! Cause the only reliable source was vanquished today and I don´t have a clue where to search for answers and...," she kept rambling on and on.

Wyatt was worried. His mommy talked way too much for his liking. She really was scared. And so was he. With all the power he had – what all told him time and again – he was nevertheless sure that this threat was beyond his power. He could not protect everybody. And now mommy asked stupid questions... She seemed confused and so scared...

Wyatt looked over at his aunts.

Maybe they could tell her that everything would turn out okay just as always... But he looked at even more shocked faces. (If even possible!)

"I ... We did not know that you were feeling like that Piper," Phoebe admitted in sympathy, "That demon told you a lot of things right?" She was scared now. Piper should feel strong. All of them should feel strong and ready to get rid of this new threat.

"Demons lie Piper...," Paige added in a strong and confident voice, "Piper you can count on us! We help you to protect BOTH of them!" Paige had leaned forward at the table and looked very sure of herself.

Piper looked at them and nodded. She was slowly gaining more confidence again. She loved her sisters for this.

"But what can we do?" she asked quietly and returned to the table to talk to them.

Before anyone could respond they heard a loud moan coming out of the baby phone which was lying on the table.

"Chris!" Piper exclaimed terrified and hurried with Wyatt on her hip over to Paige.

"Orb us upstairs NOW!" Piper demanded harshly and grabbed a hold of Paige´s sleeve.

Paige grabbed Phoebe´s sleeve and orbed all of them to Piper´s bedroom in a hurry.

* * *

He regained his consciousness slowly. Everything was fuzzy yet again and he seemed to hurt, everywhere. He opened his eyes carefully, groaned and was immediately blinded by blue orbs.

He shut his eyes at once and groaned again.

_Why do orbs have to be so bright?_

"Chris!" Piper asked worriedly as they all rematerialized next to the bed he was currently lying on.

"Cwis!" Wyatt squealed already sensing that Chris was wide awake. He was really happy to see his brother.

_Great! How should I go upstairs now?_

"Shh Wyatt. Maybe Chris is still sleeping and has just had a nightmare...," Piper whispered softly to her son. She turned around and asked Phoebe, "Would you hold Wyatt for a sec Phoebe?"

Phoebe nodded curtly and took Wyatt.

Wyatt wanted to protest but as he saw how his mother needed this time with Chris he gave up his protest and simply watched.

_Nightmare? How the hell does she even know that I am awake? No thinking now... My head...oh my head is killing me. What did I do? Where is the aspirin?_

Piper walked over to Chris and sat next to him on the bed. She reached out to stroke his hairs and whispered carefully: "It´s alright. You´re safe here Chris."

"Piperwhydoyouactsoweird?" Chris asked her in a slurred tone and opened his eyes just in time to see her arm reach out. He backed away as soon as he saw what she intended to do and stuttered a "I´mfine!" quickly.

"Shh Chris, no talking!" Piper replied in a soothing tone and withdrew her arm. "How are you feeling?"

_Is she deaf? Did I not just tell her that I am fine?_

She was worried as he did not reply. So were her sisters. She looked at him closer and noticed how he was sweating and how his eyes looked slightly glassed as if from fever.

"Chris?" Paige inquired alarmed and scooted over.

"What?" Chris shot back as he sensed her movement and immediately became alarmed.

"Sorry, I just thought he might have been asleep again," Paige apologized and backed away.

"Ididnotsleep!" Chris muttered, still slurring and sat up. He was surprised that he did manage that. He had the distinct feeling that this was a task that had been difficult for him not too long ago.

"Chris! Lay down!" Piper scolded him. She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him back down.

"Piper! I´mfine!" Chris said exasperated as he was forced to lie down again. He had been able to sit up on his own but he was no match for Piper´s force now. He could do nothing but relent and let himself be pushed down.

"No, you´re not!" Piper replied in her best lecture tone and kept her hands a little bit longer than necessary on his shoulders to get her point across.

"Iam!" Chris told her and wheezed out, "I ... need... to...get...the...book!" He was shocked to find himself short-winded.

"No! First you need to tell me _exactly_ what happened in that bar you were in!" Piper demanded of him in a slightly raised voice as she looked him in the eyes with a stern look on her face.

_Why does she have to be so loud?_

Chris clutched his head with his hand unable to prevent his limbs from doing so. His head had already been hurting but she was only making it worse.

"Pleasenotsoloud" he muttered in a pleading tone that sounded more like a groan.

_Just keep quiet will you?_

"Sorry Chris...," Piper apologized in a low voice and winced in sympathy. "But see, you´re not okay..."

_Sigh_

"MaybeI´malittlebittired" Chris admitted and lowered his hands from his head as he was sure she would keep her voice down.

_Hopefully you back off now... I can´t have you fuss over me now okay?_

"_No_, you have a major headache!" Paige replied with emphasis.

_Great..._

"OhcomeonPaige!" Chris groaned and raised his hands again.

_What do you know?_

Wyatt giggled as he watched the display in front of him.

"Sorry," Paige apologized immediately and lowered her voice too.

_Told you... or not..._

"Tell me now young man!" Piper demanded again. She would get answers today she would make sure of that.

_Forget it mom!_

"Chris?!" Piper was getting angry and her voice did not hide one bit of it. She was clearly losing her patience with him.

_Sigh... she always had that effect on me..._

"Fine," Chris gave up and sighed. He lowered his hands to the mattress and turned his head to face Piper. He would have rather faced her in a sitting position but he had to face her while he was lying on a bed and it made him feel small, insecure and vulnerable.

Wyatt shot a worried glance towards his brother but kept quiet.

_Where do I begin? And how do I leave out the fact that not even I know exactly what happened?_

"So?" Phoebe asked him in a quiet voice and waited for him to begin to tell his tale that would hopefully answer a lot of questions.

_Hmmm..._

"What´dyouknowsofar?" Chris started off and looked at them expectantly. If he knew what they knew then he would only have to fill in a few bits here and there and hopefully could leave out the part of his memory loss.

"Huh?" Piper replied totally taken aback. She wanted him to tell them not the other way around.

"Imeanwhatyou´velearnedsofar?" He was still a little short-winded and idly wondered why it seemed to be getting hotter in this bedroom.

"Well, we haven´t seen you for three days...," Paige took the lead. She was unsure of what he wanted to hear from them.

Wyatt looked at all of them in turn while he was still waiting for any changes in his brother´s condition or worse in his mother´s.

"Okay wait. I have an idea!" Phoebe exclaimed excitedly. "We tell you and whenever we want further explanation it´s your turn okay?" She looked at him expectantly.

"Soundsgoodforme" Chris agreed to her conditions.

_That could be fun... Oh no..._

"Were you all of these days down there?" Piper shot her first question. She had been wondering about that.

Chris simply nodded. He knew what she meant with 'down there'. There was no use in trying to deny it. He just had to think of a different place where he could have been all this time so why not simply admit it?

"You were in a bar in the underworld?" Paige stated more than asked.

Chris agreed again with a nod. That was exactly what 'down there' meant.

"Okay this demon friend of yours said that you messed up," Piper continued and looked at him waiting for a sign. After a few moments she continued.

_What did that guy tell them?_

"What did he mean by that?" Piper wanted to know.

_Great... I don´t know either..._

"Huh?" Chris coughed and looked at her quizzically. So this was already a question that threatened to reveal his memory loss problem.

Wyatt began to worry more.

"Do you need anything to drink?" Piper asked worried, _"this coughing sounded bad."_

"Nothanks." Chris replied after a few seconds as he was done coughing.

"So let´s get back to the question," Paige said as she was already back to business, "What did you do in the underworld?"

"Iwascollectinginformation" Chris answered truthfully and shortly closed his eyes.

_Has it become hotter in here? Or am I just imagining it?_

"In a bar?" Phoebe inquired looking incredulous.

"That´salsoaverygoodplaceintheunde rworld" he muttered and couldn´t understand her problem with that.

"Okay so you were there for three days to collect information about the threat against Wyatt right?" Piper concluded. She was trying to figure out what kind of information Chris could have gathered and why he was down there in the first place. Something told her that he wasn´t entirely truthful with them.

"Yeah," he uttered and coughed again.

"Cwis?" Wyatt said softly.

_Man am I tired! I want to sleep..._

"Chris?" Phoebe´s worried and very loud voice let his focus return to Piper.

_Oh my interrogation hadn´t stopped yet..._

"I would say we stop _for now_," Piper said and put emphasis on the last two words. She had noticed that he spaced out every now and then. She felt a little bit sorry for him and decided that he needed more rest before they would be able to question him further. After all she was not inhuman, she wouldn´t deny a hurt person the much needed sleep.

"Huh?" Paige, Phoebe and Chris were stunned. Little Wyatt was proud of his mommy.

Paige and Phoebe turned to look at Piper to see if she had grown a second head. They didn´t know what was up with her sudden change of heart.

Chris on the other side looked somewhat relieved and at the same time wary.

"Chris here needs sleep!" Piper explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She added softly as she turned her attention to Chris, "I can tell because your eyelids are threatening to close in the middle of our little conversation!"

"ButI´mf..," Chris protested weakly.

"Don´t you fine me mister! You go back to sleep. We finish this talk after your little nap!" Piper demanded and looked at him with a 'don´t-you-dare-to-talk-back' face.

_Great... Let´s see how she will force me to sleep ..._

"Paige, Phoebe could you two bring Wyatt to bed. He needs his nap too," Piper asked her sisters but kept her attention on the neurotic whitelighter. She suspected he would try to orb out as soon as he thought he would be alone. She would have none of that!

Wyatt sighed. But he welcomed his bed. Maybe he could protect his brother better when each of them had slept.

"What are you going to do?" Paige asked in a hushed tone. She feared that Piper was going to rip Chris apart for not answering truthfully. She also suspected that there was more to it than Chris let on.

_Oh no... I think I know what she planned for me..._

"I am going to sit here until Chris sleeps. Then I come downstairs and join you two," Piper informed them. She had a serious look on her face and continued to stare at Chris.

"Oh well, then good night Chris," Phoebe relented. She looked at Chris in sympathy and then went out of the room with Wyatt still sitting on her hip.

"See you later!" Paige added and went after Phoebe and her nephew Wyatt.

As soon as they had left the room and Piper had turned back to Chris after she had made sure her sisters and her boy were gone. She wore a look on her face that he hadn´t seen in a while...

_Don´t mom... Please don´t! I beg you please not! I´m fne..._

"Well Chris... back to you!" Piper began in a threatening tone.

TBC...

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	8. Piper must not die!

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 8: Piper must not die!**

"What do you think is wrong with him?" Paige asked her sister as they walked down the stairs. _"I hope it's nothing too bad."_

"I don't know. But it has to be something serious," Phoebe replied deep in thought as she climbed down stair after stair. _"It's just weird..."_

Wyatt looked at his aunt shocked. _"Why?"_

"What makes you think that?" Paige inquired curiously. _"Come on Phoebe you can't be serious!"_

"Well, first of all I think he has some issues with us – I mean he did not go in a bar just for information did he?" Phoebe asked her sister.

"You mean he was kinda ... desperate?" Paige replied unsure. She began to think about times when Chris was happy and failed to find one.

"Exactly that's what brings us to the next problem! Why can I sense something from him _now_?" Phoebe wanted to know. She couldn´t figure out this mystery but she feared that its solution was only more trouble for them.

"No idea," Paige admitted and focused her mind on this new development. Phoebe´s powers were new and she hadn´t been able to read their whitelighter. She couldn´t figure out why this fact had suddenly changed.

"My theory is that whatever happened to him destroyed his walls which prevented me from reading him before," Phoebe assumed.

"Really? So what did you sense?" Paige wanted to know her curiosity was peaked.

"A lot of confusion, pain and angst," Phoebe replied and her face turned worried. She didn´t like feeling these things and especially not from a certain boy.

"Angst as in he's afraid of Piper?" Paige tried to brighten the mood by saying it in a light tone.

"Yeah I think so," Phoebe mused bitterly.

"But why? What did Piper do to him?" Paige uttered shocked. She didn´t know that the boy feared Piper. Well, almost everyone feared Piper´s wrath but when they had been together in Piper´s bedroom Piper had been calm.

Wyatt was too shocked. His mommy was feared by Chris?

"False. The right question has to be what she will do to him," Phoebe corrected Paige and looked at her expectantly. She didn´t like to think of her sister this way but her new power told her things.

"As in now?" Paige inquired with rising dread. Paige feared for Chris.

"Yeah now and in his future!" Phoebe answered in a bitter tone. She couldn´t believe it.

"But Phoebe! You say that she will..." Paige trailed off in horror. She couldn´t bring herself to voice her fear of Piper hurting Chris.

"No Paige, it's just a theory!" Phoebe assured her sister quickly but in vain.

"She would not blow him up, would she?" Paige looked at Phoebe with a look of utter horror.

"I don't know and that's what worries me the most. I mean in the last weeks she literally hated him and now all of a sudden she cares?" Phoebe mused out loud.

"Do you think she is poisoned too?" Paige speculated out loud.

"Don't be ridiculous Paige!" Phoebe scolded her sister and told her in a sad voice, "But her mother instincts... I think now that Wyatt does care a lot about Chris she sees him as a friend. And this friend is in trouble."

"Oh you mean she will tie him up to prevent any further trouble?" Paige assumed horrified.

"I'm afraid yes," Phoebe affirmed.

"Poor Chris...," Paige had stopped her descend and looked back.

"Yeah poor Chris...," Phoebe followed her example.

Wyatt sighed. If his mommy tied Chris up then it was easier for him to stay near Chris. With that he was asleep before the sisters brought him down into his playpen.

* * *

"So young man, last chance!" Piper began seriously but with a shining in her eyes that made Chris shudder.

_What does she do? I have a very bad feeling..._

"What is wrong with you?" Piper asked him in her most stern voice she could muster.

_I can't tell you, I am sorry mom._

As he kept silent she turned into action.

Chris watched her with worry and rising dread. He tried to shrink back into the mattress but she would not give.

"Let me summarize. You were missing for three days. You were at a bar in the underworld. Alone. Then you came back and a demon tried to kill you. You couldn't fight him because you were too busy lying on the floor... Now you are lying there and telling me that you're fine... I don't think that will work anymore," as she talked she searched for something.

"Piper...," Chris began to interrupt her but a coughing fit stopped him. He needed to sit up to breathe easier. His left hand steadied him and the right one was at his chest trying to soothe the burning ache there by rubbing it.

_Great. I am coughing, but she needs to stop fussing! This way she won't stop... Arghh that hurts like hell..._

Piper was at his side in a second. She once again sat next to him and rubbed his back in small circles.

_Why does she have to do this? It makes me feel as her son..._

"It's okay Chris, take your time... So breathe in and out... Slowly...," she guided him as she applied little pressure on his back. _"Okay I should hurry, it seems to get worse."_

He followed her orders and slowly his breathing slowed down and the coughing fit stopped. He took one deep breath and opened his mouth, "Piper..."

But as soon as he opened his mouth Piper shoved a thermometer in his mouth.

"No Chris. Just keep quiet for a few minutes will you?" She ordered him and stopped her rubbing. She kept her hand on his back though while he was still sitting up.

He rolled his eyes at her and nodded reluctantly.

_If this thing tells her that I'm fine then she has no reason to keep me here._

She let him lie down on the bed as she guided him. She was content with his cooperation although she knew why he did it. This fact worried her.

_Man I am so tired... This waiting sucks..._

Piper noticed that he struggled to stay awake while they waited for the thermometer to finish. _"Poor boy. He definitely needs some time off."_

As Piper sat next to him and watched him she didn't get the chance to see another demon shimmer in.

The demon, however, saw her and threw an energy ball right at her arm.

As it hit her she went down with a scream clutching her left arm.

_MOM?!_

Chris was fully awake and alert again. Adrenalin kept him in fighting modus. He sensed the demon and was ready to strike at him.

But Piper stopped him. "Don't Chris! Stay in bed. I can handle it!" She told him sternly and stood up again. She raised her right hand and only managed to blow the demon's fingers up.

"Huh?" she wondered _"He must also be an upper level demon."_

Chris was shocked. He had seen a scene resembling this years ago. The day his mother had died... she had battled alone against a very powerful demon and his pack. He forgot to breath.

"Way way, Matt! You need a witch to protect you?" the demon hissed. "Or are you already dead? You need to breath liar so that I CAN KILL YOU!"

This demon wore grey clothes, a shirt and a tie. It was an Asian guy that looked like he was back from a business trip.

"_No_, you can't kill him! You need to take out me first!" Piper challenged him boldly.

_No mom, that's exactly the way you did it the last time..._

She shot a glance towards Chris and noticed that he indeed was holding his breath. He looked so scared, so shocked, so young and vulnerable. He looked nothing like the whitelighter she knew.

_Oh no Chris... What's wrong with you?_

* * *

"Did you hear that?" Paige asked Phoebe as they were downstairs in the dining room.

"Do you think she blew him up?" Phoebe replied and looked at Paige.

At that moment they heard the demon.

"Way way, Matt! You need a witch to protect you? Or are you already dead? You need to breathe liar so that I CAN KILL YOU!"

And then they heard a very worried Piper.

"CHRIS! My god! Will you keep breathing boy?"

"Paige!" Phoebe said. She silently thanked the world for developing baby phones and Piper for placing it in that room.

And Paige understood, she grabbed Phoebe and orbed upstairs.

* * *

He heard her but he was unable to do as she asked. He was under shock.

"_Chris? Oh no!"_ Piper continued blowing up the demon which had surprisingly not killed them yet.

But that demon only laughed in return. "You can't win witch!"

"That told me the last one too!" Piper shot back and kept her attacks up.

"So you killed him? Well then you have to die too," the demon concluded in a dark voice and took a step forward.

Phoebe and Paige suddenly orbed in. They assessed the situation in a matter of nanoseconds as they had already been informed of the demon by the baby phone and got into action before anything bad could happen. They were glad that they seemed to have arrived in time.

Phoebe levitated and kicked the demon in his stomach. Whereas Paige shouted, "Lamp!", and a lamp shattered at the demon's head.

"Oh more witches!" was the only reply they got. The demon was not yet defeated. It was never that easy for them.

"Paige, talk to Chris! He needs to breathe!" Piper shouted at her sister as she continued to try to blow the demon up once and for all. But so far she could only cause him minor injuries which was simply not good enough.

Paige orbed over to Chris and kneeled next to him. "Chris? Can you hear me?" She inquired in a soft but alarmed voice.

Phoebe continued to kick the demon. And Piper blew him up. But they had no chance. This upper level demon was simply not backing down. But, they noticed gladly, he also wasn´t succeeding in killing them.

"So now it's my turn. Can you survive my attack?" he growled and made to counterattack.

"Paige, take Chris and orb out!" Piper shouted her desperate order over at them.

"What about you?" Paige retorted desperate as well.

"Just do it!" Piper screamed back and quickened her assaults.

Paige could only do as she was asked; she grabbed Chris at his arm and orbed them downstairs. As soon as they rematerialized Chris collapsed. His face contorted in pain and his hands reached for his stomach.

Paige caught him and lowered them to the floor. _"Oh Chris what's wrong?"_

Chris only trembled and still held his breath while clutching his stomach for dear life willing the content to stay where it belonged.

_Mom you can't die. Not again – not here – not now... it's all my fault... I should have never been born..._

"Chris? Hey Chris you with me? Hey breathe in and out!" Paige tried to reach him but Chris seemed oblivious to her.

Then she also held her breath as she heard a loud crash from upstairs.

"_Oh my god. Phoebe Piper!"_

The demon in the bedroom of Piper conjured two very big energy balls.

"Piper, freeze them!" Phoebe shouted worriedly as she jumped out of the way.

"_I can't die here. I need my daughter to be born."_

"I can't!" Piper replied as she repeatedly failed to freeze them.

"_Oh no... my boy... my sisters... Leo...Chris I can't die now..."_

"Die!" the demon growled and attacked Piper.

"_I'm coming Matt!"_

Piper closed her eyes...

"_This can't be the end..."_

Phoebe closed her eyes too. She could not watch as those balls made a beeline for her sister.

"_No no no no no no"_

"Arghh!"

A cry full of pain could be heard after those agonizing seconds were gone by...

A loud explosion could be heard shortly afterwards...

As Piper and Phoebe opened their eyes again they saw a lot of ash lying on the floor. Confused and wary they looked around the room.

"But what..? I mean how...?" Phoebe stuttered confused.

"_Shouldn't I be dead?"_

"WYATT!" Piper exclaimed happily as she spotted her little angel in the room.

"What?" Phoebe asked as she whirled around to Piper and then followed her gaze only to discover her little nephew.

Wyatt had lowered his hands and smiled at his mommy and aunt.

"Mommy?" he asked innocently as if he hadn´t just vanquished an upper level demon.

"Oh sweetie!" Piper cried unbelievingly, rushed over to him and enveloped him in a bone crushing hug.

"Did he just... I mean did he..?" Phoebe stuttered and then simply tried to accept it with "Wow."

"Oh Wyatt," Piper cried happily that she hadn´t died and the demon was gone, "My baby, my angel."

Wyatt watched his mommy and aunt one more second and decided then to do something. He grabbed a leg of each of them and orbed.

* * *

"Piper! Phoebe! Oh my god! Please don't let them be dead!" Paige hyperventilated.

Chris lay at her chest and threatened to suffocate. They were making an odd pair.

_Mom don`t die... Please don`t die..._

At this moment Wyatt, Piper and Phoebe orbed in.

"Cwis!" Wyatt shouted and ran over to his brother. "Cwis!"

But Chris didn't notice Wyatt he stared at his mother... Alive... his mother was standing there... ALIVE... He couldn't believe it. He did not dare to breathe for it might shatter the illusion and she would turn into her bloody body.

"Piper! Phoebe!" Paige shouted at them. She had tears of joy in her eyes, "But how is this possible?"

"Err... I dunno," Phoebe replied unsure. She still wasn´t so sure if she could just accept the fact that her little nephew had accomplished what two of the Charmed Ones had not been able to do. "Piper?" she asked tentatively.

But Piper saw Chris and in that exact moment she rushed over to him.

"Chris? Hey Chris? It's me. It's Piper. Chris can you hear me? Chris?" Piper talked to him. She grabbed his upper arms and squeezed.

He focused on her but still did not take a breath.

_Is this really her?_

"Come Chris, you can't kill yourself here. Remember you have to save Wyatt!" Piper tried to talk him out of his reverie.

"Youokay?" he whispered scared and finally drew in a breath to utter those two unbelieving words.

_Please be okay... don't be a dream... you're still alive... _He had risked talking to her even if it could mean that she would just drop dead the next moment. But he needed to make sure.

"Huh?" Piper replied confused. _"What's wrong with him?"_

"Areyoualright?" he tried again fearing the answer more than anything.

_Oh no..._

"Piper, I think he needs to know if you're okay." Paige informed her as she watched the scene in front of her. Chris was not acting the way she came to know him and it scared the hell out of her to see him like this.

"Yeah, he seems to be in a sort of shock." Phoebe added and told her sister, "Piper, talk to him." She could also not understand what was going on but she sensed that Chris needed Piper tell him that she was fine.

"Hey Chris, I'm fine look. No scratch!" Piper told him as she showed him her arms.

"Youcouldhavediedagain" he muttered barely audible as he visibly relaxed and breathed in and out.

_Thank god she's okay..._

"Of course, I'm a fighter!" Piper soothed him. She shot a worried glance to her sisters who only shrugged in return. They were at a loss for words.

_You misunderstood this..._

"DO THAT NEVER AGAIN!" Chris shouted suddenly and let the thermometer drop which he still had had in his mouth all this time. He couldn´t hold in his emotions and at the moment he couldn´t care less. He was sick, he was tired and his mom could have easily died here only seconds ago.

_You can't scare me like that..._

"But Chris...," Piper said shocked at his sudden outburst. She was really confused and backed away a bit.

"I'm not worth to be rescued! No one should die for my sorry ass! You must stay alive do you hear that? Wyatt needs you ... your sisters need you... Leo needs you... I ...," he stopped trying to catch his breath after he uttered so many words.

_What the hell? Why am I acting so weird again? _He began to get a hold of his emotions.

"You need me, too?" She finished tentatively for him _"But why?"_

"_What does he mean by that?"_ Paige thought shocked.

"_Is he close to us in the future?"_ Phoebe immediately mused _"I'm sensing a lot of worry and he's really scared but why?"_

_Oh crap ... future consequences... better to shut up now... keep your emotions under control... come on you can do it..._

Wyatt picked the thermometer up and showed it his mommy: "Mommy."

Piper was shocked. _"Did Chris just say something positive about me? Did he care for me more as for my sisters? But why?"_

She looked to Wyatt and took the thermometer from her son. As she looked at it she nearly let it drop.

"Oh crap!" She exclaimed horrified. _"This can't be!"_

"Whatisit? Phoebe and Paige asked at the same time.

All of them saw what Piper meant by her sudden exclamation as Chris simply collapsed. His adrenalin was gone and his body was way too weak to let him stay awake any more.

Wyatt was at his brother's side immediately. He could feel the heat that came off Chris in waves now.

"I think we have MAJOR problems now," Piper informed her sisters and hurried to Chris` face.

Phoebe came over to where Paige was still sitting with a now unconsciousness Chris and saw the thermometer too.

"I agree," she muttered.

Tbc...

Sorry guys but I wanted to update this weekend and I finished it just now.

Please tell me what you think!

And I changed a few ideas of mine. The big Wyatt scene and a funny Piper/Chris scene come in the next update.- can't promise the Leo scene though...

Tomorrow school starts again... therefore updates could come less frequently... Sorry.

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	9. Leo in action

**I am so sorry for not updating earlier. But I was kinda busy. First we had family parties then I passed my theoretical test for the driving license (happy dancing) then I had a test at school in Spanish and now I had to learn for physics but I need some time off and you guys need an update I think... Now I think I update a longer chapter so that I can catch up faster... Here we go:**

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 9: Leo in action**

"103.5?" Phoebe asked incredulously. _"He's burning..."_

"Oh that is so not good!" Paige added alarmed. _"We should keep an eye on that..."_

"Okay ladies. We need to do something!" Piper demanded as she recovered from her initial shock._ "Oh Chris what have you gotten yourself into now?"_

"Phoebe, go fetch some clothes of Leo but comfortable ones! Paige you fetch some buckets and towels we need to get this temperature under control! Wyatt, can you stay by his side as long as mommy fetches some blankets for the bed?" Piper ordered. _"Okay he needs rest, a lot of fluids, some fresh clothes, new bedspread..."_

"Okay I'll get some!" Phoebe said and ran off to the attic where Piper kept old Leo's stuff. _"At least I can do something..."_

"Be right back," Paige announced and orbed to the basement to fetch buckets. _"Buckets...buckets, where are those buckets when you need them?"_

"Mommy," Wyatt confirmed and sat right beside Chris who lay unconsciousness on the floor. _"Cwis please be bettew soon."_

"Mommy only needs a second," Piper assured her son and left the room. _"Bedspread... Rest... sleep... new clothes... food... fluids..." _She kept thinking about how to help Chris best.

After only a few minutes Piper had returned to the room and changed the bedspread.

"Okay ready... how can I take him to the bed now...," she thought out loud.

Wyatt who had heard that orbed his brother on the bed.

"Wyatt!" Piper exclaimed shocked.

Chris stirred but did not wake. As unconscious as he was he still brought his hands closer to his stomach.

"Okay only this time but you can't orb as often as you like to," Piper scolded her son. But as she looked in his worried eyes she added softly: "It's okay Wyatt. You did a good job. You sure are worried about your friend Chris here. But he will get better okay? Mommy takes care of him, I promise!"

Wyatt looked at her and nodded but he was still worried. _"What if mommy is as powerless as I am?"_

Piper began to change Chris. First she took off his shoes. _"What do I do if he wakes up?"_

Wyatt looked worried at his mom and then at his brother. He did not like the fact that Chris was still asleep. But maybe he had not slept at all before...

Piper removed Chris` shirt next, gently but firmly, and gasped.

Wyatt wondered what his mother might have discovered and wanted to see it for himself but Piper warned him, stopping him in his tracks: "No Wyatt, you better not see this."

Chris´ torso was covered with bruises, scars, old and new ones, and scratches. He looked as if he must be in a lot of pain.

* * *

_**Chris dream...**_

"_**Hey Matt, wait!" Jo called out to him as he tried to jog up to Chris.**_

"_**Yeah?" Chris slowed down a bit and turned to Jo.**_

"_**You forgot your athame!" Jo informed him as he caught up with him.**_

"_**I what?" Chris asked confused.**_

"_**Your athame, you forgot it!" Jo tried to clarify and whirled it in front of Chris to show it to him.**_

"_**No Jo, that's not mine, that's Bob's," Chris told Jo.**_

"_**Oh," Jo looked like a lost puppy.**_

"_**Never mind," Chris assured him.**_

"_**Well, can I ask you something?" Jo inquired mysteriously. **_

"_**Sure!" Chris was quick to say.**_

"_**Do you know any whitelighters?" Jo asked slightly interested.**_

"_**Why?" Chris replied nervously.**_

"_**Ah no reason, just curious, I like to kill them, you know," Jo informed him and watched Chris closely.**_

"_**Should I find one for you?" Chris offered with a wink, "If you like them so much."**_

"_**No, first we kill your witches" Jo replied still watching Chris like a hawk.**_

"_**Okay," Chris told him unsure. He did not know what Jo was up to.**_

"_**Hey, no need to worry. We manage to do it, believe me!" Jo assured him and grinned, "With old Jo, all witches go!"**_

"_**Yeah let's talk about that again when we are finished with them," Chris replied dryly. **_

"_**Okay," Jo relented and lost his grin.**_

"_**Something else?" Chris asked him as he noticed Jo´s mood.**_

"_**Yeah," Jo replied cryptically.**_

"_**Spill it!" Chris demanded in a harsh tone. Down here in the underworld you should not appear soft.**_

"_**Well you seem to have had this special symbol on your arm," Jo mused out loud.**_

"_**Symbol?" Chris asked back with dread.**_

"_**Yeah that with the ..., well never mind," Jo dismissed the matter with a wave of his hand.**_

"_**No, it was just a scratch, nothing important really," Chris told him as he thought he knew what Jo was talking about.**_

"_**If you say so," Jo told him good hearted but at the same time he thought "He lies... I need to make that potion a lot stronger... This is not a normal whitelighter"**_

"_**Then bye?" Chris asked quickly as he was running out of time. He had forgot about the time and now his spell cloaking his whiteligther orbs was wearing off.**_

"_**Yeah, see you!" Jo announced and slapped Chris on the back.**_

"_**Okay! Bye!" Chris replied hastily.**_

_**As Chris walked away he looked at that symbol on his arm and thought: "What is that? What did you plan with that Wyatt?"**_

* * *

"Oh Chris," Piper murmured and touched one of his wounds, the symbol scar of his dream, carefully to examine it. _"Where did you get those?"_

Chris reacted immediately. He gasped and awoke with a start. _Where am I?_ In his blurry vision he misunderstood his situation and muttered to Wyatt the person next to him: "I better go," and orbed out of the room.

But in midorb Piper grabbed his hand with the word "Wait". Nevertheless she was orbed along.

Wyatt stared at the empty space. But he knew what he had to do. His mother and his brother needed some time alone. He orbed his teddy bear to him and played with it on the bed.

* * *

"Piper?" Chris said feverishly as he noticed that his mother had orbed along. He only saw her blurry form.

"Huh?" Piper answered and took a strong hold of his arm as she looked around and noticed where they were.

They were on top of the Golden Gate Bridge.

* * *

Paige and Phoebe met before the door to the room in which Chris should have been.

"I'm really worried Paige," Phoebe admitted. "Maybe we should really call Leo." _"I think it's the best option we have so far..."_

"I don't know Phoebe," Paige replied sullenly, "We don't know what will happen." _"They could kill each other..."_

Phoebe didn't know what she meant, either what was wrong with Chris or what Leo and Chris would do if they met...

Nevertheless both went into the room.

"Piper why don't we give him clothes of his own – I mean we have them downstairs don't we?" Phoebe asked her sister. But she was not there. Neither was Chris. Only Wyatt and his teddy bear. _"What the...?"_

"Wyatt! What are you doing all alone here buddy?" Phoebe exclaimed alarmed. _"Where are Piper and Chris?"_

"Alone? Where're Piper and Chris?" Paige asked shocked and scanned the room. _"What happened?"_

"I dunno but Wyatt here plays with his teddy bear on the bed," Phoebe answered her barely keeping the worry out of her voice. _"That is so not good!"_

Wyatt squealed at them and proudly showed his aunts his teddy bear. _"Look isn't he great?"_

"Hey buddy, where's your mommy?" Phoebe asked her nephew. _"Please let her be okay!"_

"Cwis," he told her as if it was obvious. _"Why is she asking that?"_

"Do you think she took him to a doctor or what else?" Paige suggested wary. _"How stupid of me... She wouldn't do that without telling us or taking Wyatt with them."_

"Without Wyatt? No way!" Phoebe replied at once. _"Paige nice of you to try to calm me but that is not possible..."_

"_I thought so," _Paige scolded herself and felt guilty for even voicing that thought out loud.

"Mommy. Cwis," Wyatt announced and threw his teddy bear up and down. _"No need to worry, aunt Paige and aunt Phoebe!"_

"Okay buddy. Why don't you come downstairs with us?" Paige said softly. _"We need to check every trail"_

"Mommy. Cwis!" Wyatt insisted. _"They're back soon – I know!"_

He was greeted with worried silence.

* * *

"Piper?" he tried again. He didn't feel well at all. This orbing made his stomach ache again. _What's wrong with her? What's happening here?_

"Oh Chris," Piper whispered frightened. _"Why are we here? HERE? I think I'm going to be sick..."_

"Piper, what's wrong?" Chris asked again. He was getting angry. She was clutching to his hand as if she wanted to break it. And he was not in the mood to tolerate further pain.

"Chris, we need to get back to the manor I think I am going to get sick," Piper told him in a hurried tone.

_Great my mom is afraid of the height? That's new even for me._

"Quickly!" Piper urged him.

"Okay," he gave in although he could have used this time up here and less orbing.

* * *

"Leo?!" Paige called anxiously. _"Hurry up!"_

"Leo!" Phoebe shouted angrily. _"Where is he when you need him?"_

Wyatt looked up with hope in his eyes. _"Is daddy coming?"_

A jingling sound could be heard and blue orbs turned into Leo.

"Do you like to meditate?" **(A/N: I love that scene in the show! I think it was Spin City) **_"It's good to be here"_

"No Leo!" Paige replied indignantly. _"What the ...?"_

"It's an emergency!" Phoebe announced harshly. _"We need to find your wife and you want us to meditate! Unbelievingly!"_

Leo looked at his son and shot a confused look at Phoebe as he noticed that Wyatt was fine, alive and healthy while he squealed at his daddy. _"What's wrong here?"_

"What is it?" Leo asked concerned now that Piper was nowhere to be found. Then Wyatt orbed into his arms. _"Wyatt?"_

Shortly after that Chris and Piper orbed in.

Wyatt had noticed that his brother was coming and had left the bed so that he could orb back there.

_Huh orbing costs a lot of energy lately..._Chris thought as he swayed slightly but he stayed on his feet.

"That's it!" Phoebe announced and pointed towards the two.

"... LEO!" Piper exclaimed surprised as she noticed that her ex-husband was there too.

_Leo? No way... They should not have called him..._

"Piper. Do you know what's wrong here?" he asked still not understanding the big emergency. But as he noticed that Chris and Piper had orbed together in her bed he began to realize. And it shocked him. _"Of all things... why does she has to go out with HIM?"_

"Chris! What did you do to her?" Leo demanded and took a threatening step forward.

_I? What I did to her? That's so just you. You don't know what's going on and every time it's my fault..._

"What?" Phoebe asked incredulously.

"Why are you orbing around with her? What did you do to her? She doesn't look too good!" Leo was angry now.

Wyatt orbed next to Paige as his daddy was way too angry to hold him any longer. And Wyatt was very worried now. His mommy seemed to be sick, his daddy insulted Chris for things he didn't do wrong and Chris looked as if he was ready to blow things up if he was Piper...

"Leo, wait!" Paige tried to interject and avoid the looming catastrophe.

_That's enough! Now you are going to pay DAD!"_

"No Paige! IT`S OKAY!" Chris shouted. He was fuelled by his hatred against Leo. "I show him what I did! I give him a reason why he should be angry with me! Now look _Leo_! How about this?"

And with that he attacked his dad with a hard punch to the stomach. And he continued to attack his dad.

Leo was totally taken aback and could not block the punches.

"_No Chris! Leo!" _Piper thought worriedly.

"_Just as I thought they are going to kill each other!" _Paige thought bitterly.

"_Whoa. So much anger. Chris? What happened in your future that you hate Leo that much?" _Phoebe wondered.

"Daddy! Chwis!" Wyatt cried.

"Chris! Stop! Will you?" Piper shouted angrily but Chris continued. _"Oh no!"_

"Do something!" Paige shouted to Phoebe. _"This could end very badly!"_

"And what?" She replied. _"I feel so helpless!"_

"Leo, hold him!" Piper shouted desperately. _"Please let this end now!"_

"_Easier said than done Piper! Why is he so angry now?" _Leo didn't know how to stop Chris. And half of his body ached now. Chris – still shirtless – had no point where Leo could grab and stop him. Leo, a pacifist in person, did not think on attacking back.

Piper, Phoebe, Paige and Wyatt watched helplessly as Chris punched Leo.

"_Oh no! – Chris! Leo! Oh my god! – What have we done?"_

But nobody needed to intervene because suddenly Chris` strength was gone. He collapsed for the x-th millionth time this day.

_Grrr... I hate this... He should feel at least part of the pain he inflicted on me since I was just a little boy._

Leo caught him just in time. Leo looked confused at Chris and noticed the tears that ran down Chris` cheek.

"_What's wrong with him?" _Leo wondered and looked at Piper.

Piper sighed. "Thank God," she murmured relieved and walked over to the two. _"Thank god – they're not dead."_

"Uff," Paige sighed too and so did Phoebe. _"Please let them be okay!" _Wyatt was still worried. _"Daddy? Cwis?"_

"Chris?" Leo asked him softly. "I'm sorry." _"I should not have said that..."_

"Don't," Chris sobbed, "Just don´t." _I need to go as soon as possible..._

"Hey Chris," Piper came nearer and began to rub his back. _"Poor boy" _Chris flinched at that contact and leaned accidentally closer to Leo. _Oh no. _He was trapped. _Shit_

Piper kept rubbing his back and tried to soothe him. _"You need rest Chris. You're at the edge with your lack of sleep."_

Leo wanted to ask her something but Piper shot him a glare that told him that he should wait with questions. _"What's wrong with him? He's burning up."_

"Chris? Could you go back to bed?" Piper asked him gently. "Please?" _You need your rest. You did not sleep an hour. You always woke up earlier – that's not resting."_

"No..." he whispered desperately. He needed to go away.

_Not a bed – I need a pit or something where I can crawl into..._

"Chris," Piper tried to coax him. _"You need to understand..."_

"Don't Piper. Leave me alone... Please," he sounded so desperate.

_Please go away... Just leave me alone... I don't know what's wrong with me... I don't want to harm you..._

"I can't Chris...," Piper replied softly. _"You need to understand that I can't stop worrying."_

"I better go," Chris whispered but Piper raised her voice: "You stay here until you get better young man, do you understand that?!"

Chris´ winced at her raised voice and was immediately reminded of his headache.

"Piper!" Leo alerted her.

"What?" she replied but understood immediately. She shut her mouth and Leo orbed one of Paige's buckets over. He held Chris upright as Chris heaved and vomited heavily into the bucket.

_I will never orb any time soon again!_

"Shh. When you're done you can lay down okay?" Piper rubbed his back again. _"Oh Chris you are definitely poisoned."_

"_What's wrong with him?" _Leo didn't understand it. He continued to hold the boy as he watched him being sick. Something deep within his gut stirred and Leo felt sympathy for the boy.

_Please let me wake up! End this nightmare... Arghh I'm sick..._

Phoebe and Paige had left the room quietly and took Wyatt with them. They figured that Piper and Leo needed some time alone with Chris and they weren`t keen on seeing him vomiting again.

"Shh. It´s okay, you're done?" Piper asked Chris cautiously. _"First wash him, change of clothes, drink and sleep."_

Chris nodded slowly and carefully. He did not want to upset his stomach further and he was also a bit cautious about his headache. _I need a bed..._

"Leo, could you help me?" Piper asked him. _"Please let him help me – no more fighting please..."_

"Sure," Leo replied eagerly and got to his feet. Piper was now holding Chris upright. _"That is so confusing... Why shouldn`t orb him over?"_

"We can't orb him. That's what makes him sick, you know," she told her ex-husband as if she could read his thoughts. "Can you sit here for a sec Chris? Leo and I, we are going to carry you to the bed." _"Oh Chris..."_

"No... Can walk," Chris protested weakly. He was totally tired but not an invalid. _I am not a baby mom!_

"Chris. We are only supporting you, okay?" Leo suggested tentatively.

"Great," Chris murmured sarcastically and tried to stand up but failed miserably.

Both Piper and Leo reached out to steady him.

_It's just like former times. Mom and dad care for me... Well mom yeah but dad? Arghh no thinking you need to concentrate on walking here!_

"Here we go," Leo encouraged all of them and hoisted Chris into a standing position with Piper's help.

But Chris` legs refused to hold the weight and they began to buckle. He threatened to fall down again. He knew it and hated it.

"Need help here," Chris admitted just loud enough for his parents to hear.

_I hate being ill!_

"No prob," Piper replied instantly and together with Leo they guided Chris to the bed where they let him sat down.

"Hey Chris, don't sleep here!" Piper demanded with a gentle slap to his cheek as Chris wanted to fall asleep immediately.

_Mom! I'm so tired..._

"We need to clean you and change your clothes and then you need to drink!" Piper ordered. _"Then you can sleep!"_

"_Oh no, Piper in her mother mode. I need to intervene!" _Leo thought amused.

"Piper!" Leo gently cut in. "Just give him time. Let him sleep we can do those things later."

Chris shot a somewhat thankful glance at his father and curled up into a ball on the bed and was asleep within a second.

As they watched him fall asleep Leo broke the silence with the question that had kept him busy all the time:

"What happened Piper?"

TBC...

Yo guys! Enough action? Finally Leo joined our club! Do you like it? Hate it? Was it good, bad or something worse? I want to apologize again for not updating earlier. I hope I can change that now. Feel free to critice or ask questions but most important: PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! Thanks to all of you!

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	10. Apology and revelation

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 10: Apology and revelation**

"_...'So what happened?' Leo had to ask first of all the questions... Why has he done it? He always asked the right questions. How can I explain this mess?"_

"Piper?" Leo brought her out of her reverie as he touched her arm worriedly.

"_Oh right, I need to answer him... But where do I start?"_

"It's okay if you don't want to," he told her gently.

"No Leo, it's just so complicated and it confuses me... But I´ll try okay?" Piper replied sounding lost.

"Okay, you can start whenever you're ready," Leo informed her and kept his hand on her arm reassuringly.

"Well, today, this morning we noticed that Chris was missing. Actually... we hadn't seen him for three days or so. Don´t get started Leo before you haven´t heard the rest," Piper began to inform him, "Well, Daryl informed us that a couple had found him. So we tried to get him from them but Wyatt sensed him in the attic and orbed me up there. Then a demon shimmered in and... Do I really need to tell you this from the beginning?" she stopped to look at him.

"It's your choice Piper," Leo repeated gently.

"Okay well, then I keep it short. We vanquished the demon and the other one was vanquished by Wyatt. But the point is that Chris seems to be affected by some terrible poison and he has a lot of demons after him that want to kill him. I don't know why but he is in a lot of trouble. Not only with his condition at the moment but also with all of those demons out there trying to rip him apart," Piper hastily summarized.

"Well Piper, you did a good job," Leo praised her.

"Huh?" Piper replied confused not really believing her ears.

"I mean you kept him safe didn't you?" Leo tried to clarify carefully.

"Yeah I think so... But what is your point?" Piper asked him warily of his sudden fondness for Chris.

"I mean there was nothing that we could not master before. So we can fix this too," Leo finished determined.

"Oh. I think you're right," Piper replied in a quiet tone and began to gain confidence.

"Good," Leo said contently and added lovingly, "You look tired. Maybe you should lie down, too?"

"No Leo, I can't let him be alone. He is so vulnerable right now," Piper protested although she was touched by his concern.

"I saw that," Leo commented dryly.

"Oh Leo, don't be mad at him. I think this poison affects his thoughts, too," Piper came to Chris´ defense. It was shocking for her to realize that she had taken Chris´ side although the boy had attacked her husband.

"Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. But you're right. He looks horrible. Look at all of this scratches and scars," Leo relented and pointed at Chris´ bare torso.

"Yeah, we were told that he was in a bar fight. Later we got to know that he was in a bar in the underworld all this three days and nights," Piper informed Leo in a disapproving tone.

"Piper, it's not your fault," Leo tried to console her.

"I dunno Leo. It is just so...," Piper trailed off unsure of how to voice her concerns.

"He is not a kid. He can take care of himself," Leo told her and sounded sincere although he just had witnessed how messed up Chris really was.

"Not now," Piper shot back as she looked at him with a 'are-you-kidding-me-look'.

"I didn't say that," Leo hastened to reply before she got angry with him and added, "But I think that _we_ can take care of him. At least until he is well again."

"Huh?" Piper did not believe her ears once more. She looked at him quizzically.

"What I mean is that he seemed so," Leo was searching for the right words, "... scared and angry at the same time as he attacked me."

"What do you mean?" Piper inquired curiously.

"Well... it seems that he knows that he is controlled by some potion but he can't stop it from taking over his body," Leo informed her in a serious and all business like tone.

"Yeah I see," Piper agreed depressed.

"I think I heard of this kind of potion before," Leo hesitantly informed her not trying to bring her hopes up too quickly.

"Really?" Piper´s hope returned.

"Yeah... It's rare but dangerous... very dangerous," Leo told her cautiously.

* * *

"_**Hey Matt!" Chris heard Jo call out to him again.**_

"_**Hey Jo!" Chris replied in greeting.**_

"_**New information?" Jo was a demon after all; they got down to business first.**_

"_**No, so far nothing," Chris answered him only half truthfully and inquired, "Any new demons in our club?" He was so used to being in the club that he referred to it as 'our club' already.**_

"_**Yeah some more; you meet them tomorrow," Jo happily informed him.**_

"_**Why?" Chris asked but left the 'tomorrow and not tonight' hanging in the air.**_

"_**Tonight is a great kill, you did not know?" Jo sounded seriously surprised.**_

"_**Ahh... no I was kinda busy," Chris replied rather lamely.**_

"_**I see. What did you do?" Jo inquired curiously. **_

"_**Ahh... Well I had this witch...," Chris tried his best to come up with a story on the spot. One that Jo would believe.**_

"_**Was it fun?" Jo did not ask for anything else, never.**_

"_**Screamed like a girl as I sliced her throat," Chris told him proudly but felt sick inside - `Please God I have to say this as my cover...`**_

"_**Sounds really like fun!" Jo answered looking like he had wanted to have had a part in it. He slapped Chris approvingly on his shoulder.**_

"_**Was hard work. Her whitelighter is a nasty one...," Chris trailed off and cursed himself for telling such a stupid thing to a demon of all creatures.**_

"_**Is?" Jo´s interest was peaked.**_

"_**Oh my fault, was," Chris corrected quickly.**_

"_**You killed him?" Jo asked warily.**_

"_**No," Chris clarified, "but I killed her so he is technically not her whitelighter anymore."**_

"_**Well then," Jo chirped and Chris held his breath fearing what was to come, "let's celebrate!" And Chris released his breath relieved.**_

"_**Okay. What's today´s special?" Chris tried to change the subject.**_

"_**It's called demon specialty number one. My favorite one," Jo said mysteriously.**_

"_**Yeah is that so?" Chris replied in a happy tone. He tried to hide his discomfort.**_

"_**Yeah, every new member of my team needs to drink it," Jo informed him proudly.**_

"_**Why - is it a test?" Every alarm bell in Chris´ head was ringing. He needed to get out of here.**_

"_**Exactly – but you have nothing to fear – if you were honest that is," Jo said in a distrusting tone and watched Chris like a hawk.**_

"_**If?" Chris tried to sound offended but he tried his hardest not to swallow around the lump that was suddenly in his throat - `shit what do I do now? I can't deny it – it would blow my cover...`**_

"_**Matt just drink it then you are official a member of our club!" Jo nonchalantly ordered him.**_

"_**Okay," Chris relented and resisted the urge to sigh. He was in this mess now he could not escape it. **_

"_**Good boy! Here you go!" Jo replied proudly and produced a mug of liquid from out of nowhere. He put it down in front of Chris and looked at him expectantly.**_

"_**Thanks," was all Chris could say. He knew it was probably a trap, a trick, poison or whatever but he also knew that he had to do it. - `What's that? That smells awful...`**_

_**And Chris drank it nevertheless...**_

* * *

"Did you see that?" Leo asked her in a hushed voice.

"See what?" Piper replied irritated.

"I think Chris stirred," Leo told her and looked intently at Chris.

"Leo," Piper sighed and scolded him, "He doesn't get sleep when he keeps waking up every now and then."_ "How can I help him?"_

"Piper, this could be a side effect of the poison," Leo reminded her patiently. _"I wonder if it is what I suspect... This could be really really bad..."_

"Oh," Piper replied feeling guilty. _"Why haven't I thought of this before?"_

_Where am I?_

Chris groaned as he slowly regained consciousness and then he blinked. In his vision was a woman.

_Mom?_

"Piper?" he asked drowsily as he tried to clear his vision and focus on her face.

"Yeah it's me," Piper replied gently and sat next to him. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," he replied immediately and knew at the same time that this was so not true.

_Ah no... I'm still in this mess... _He remembered now and he was not happy about it.

"Ah Chris," Piper sighed defeated. _"He keeps insisting that it's nothing but Leo sounded so... I don't know... But I think that it's bad news..."_

"`msorry," he replied feeling guilty and was already slurring again.

_I can't lie to mom any longer... Is that the potion thinking? Am I crazy? I can't spill my secrets!_

"It's okay Chris," Leo told him gently as he watched the boy fighting an inner battle. He really seemed sick.

Chris turned his head to his father's voice and he immediately avoided eye contact.

_Oh dad...I should apologize for my behavior earlier..._

"_What's with him?" _Leo thought hurt.

"Chris, open your mouth," Piper demanded softly holding a thermometer. _"Hopefully his temperature goes down..."_

"Huh?" Chris turned back to her and understood. He opened his mouth reluctantly.

_I hope this thing will finally tell her that it was nothing serious..._

Piper shoved the thermometer in his mouth and he closed his mouth around it. They waited in silence. _"Come on I need good news..."_

_How should I start? I don't really know what to say..._

"So Chris, the next step is...," Piper interrupted the silence but was interrupted by Chris.

"Piper," Chris murmured all the while trying to keep the thermometer still.

"Yeah, what is it?" Piper wanted to know. _"Is he going to vomit again?"_

Leo took a closer look at Chris fearing that the vomiting could continue every second but what he heard let him gasp.

"Could you... err... could you wait outside?" Chris stuttered sounding like a scared and sick little child, "I ... I need to speak, um..., to Leo, um..., alone."

_Wow; that was difficult enough... Please go mom... I need time with him... I did the wrong things... You taught me to apologize..._

"_He is really upset...," _Piper thought and smiled_. "But I am proud of him – somehow – he seems to say sorry."_

"_Wants to talk to me?"_ Leo thought shocked. What was wrong with Chris? Didn´t he hate him?

"Okay, but you two will not kill each other alright?" Piper joked. _"I will intervene and blow each of you up if you even try."_

"Sure," Chris replied a little embarrassed. He knew that he should not have attacked Leo.

_I want to get this over with quickly..._

Piper shot a glance at Leo who only shrugged in return and then she left the room.

Leo walked over to Chris and said cautiously: "Do you mind if I take a seat?"

_Please not this attitude... I'm not used to it..._

"No, go ahead," was the reply Chris could muster. He was feeling hot and his heart pace picked up speed. He did not like to be near Leo let alone be alone with him. But he needed to do this. He was in the wrong and he had to apologize.

Leo sat next to Chris on the bed and waited for him to begin. He was not close enough that they would accidently touch each other.

"_I wonder what he is going to say," _Leo thought curiously but also a bit cautiously.

"I...," but the thermometer dropped out of his mouth. He had forgotten about that. "Sorry," Chris added quickly and picked it up. He was eager to see it confirming his hopes that he was indeed not sick. But the digits told a complete different story.

_Great..._

"Ah, don't mention it Chris. It's just a thermometer and it isn´t even broken. Just give it to me," Leo offered and held out his hand palm up. He tried not to upset the boy. He did not even know what Chris was capable of or what he had planned.

"_He is so nervous about this... I need to lighten the mood..."_

"Well...," Chris stuttered and gave it over to his dad with trembling hands. He knew he was screwed as soon as Leo would see the digits. He had to do this quickly and then get out of here.

"_That's not good... trembling hands could be because of a fever... I need to check on him when we're done talking..."_

"Leo," Chris began seriously and looked him in the eyes. He sat upright and cleared his throat. Chris tried to delay the inevitable.

Leo focused on Chris instead of the thermometer.

"Leo," Chris repeated in a steady voice and forced himself to look Leo in the eyes, "I wanted to apologize. I had no right to act like I did before..."

"It's okay Chris, that was not you...," Leo cut in and tried to console the boy.

"No Leo. I shouldn't have done that," Chris insisted.

"I shouldn't have said those words," Leo admitted feeling a bit guilty about the situation as well.

"Leo, she's your wife. You had every right to think the way you did," Chris dismissed his guilt.

"But Chris...," Leo tried to cut in but Chris cut him off.

"No Leo. It's good. I mean I'm the one who overreacted. And I want to apologize. Please forgive me. I don't know what came over me. But I am really sorry for what I did to you... You know... the punches...," Chris trailed off not sure if he had said too much or not enough. It was new to him to sound so sincere while apologizing to Leo.

"_Wow Chris. That was a speech," Leo was speechless._

_Why aren't you answering? Did I say something wrong? Dad, please say something..._

"Chris," Leo began unsure of what to reply but sensing Chris´ need for him to say anything.

"Yeah?" Chris asked unsure of how his father would reply.

"I forgive you," Leo said out of the blue and hoped that this would satisfy Chris. He looked at Chris and was surprised to see Chris´ eyes blink as if to prevent tears from falling.

Those three words were enough to let Chris respire.

"Thank you," Chris replied honestly and was angry that he had to keep tears from falling. Why did this version of Leo affect him this much?

"No Chris, I mean it. We were both a little bit out of the ordinary I think," Leo told him with emphasis, "it is not your fault alone."

"Yeah you could call it so," Chris replied with a hint of a smile and ignored his last statement.

"Of course I do," Leo said and made a face.

Chris saw this and laughed hard.

_When was the last time when I enjoyed talking to my dad?_

Leo smiled proud of himself, _"Wow I made him laugh... When did this kid laugh the last time?"_

But his smile faded as Chris laughing turned into a coughing fit. Chris hands rushed to his chest as he tried to get his breathing and coughing under control.

"Chris!" Leo uttered shocked and reached out to help him sit up right and breathe easier.

_Yeah that's karma I think..._

"It's okay Chris," Leo soothed him and began to rub Chris´ back.

"Leo," Chris coughed trying to get Leo´s attention. _I NEED TO..._

"No talking here," Leo demanded and added softly: "We two are good."

_Thank God... Thanks dad..._

* * *

"So, Piper?" Paige asked her sister and was waiting for a reply. _"I hope everything is okay..."_

"You left the two alone?" Phoebe asked incredulously. _"Leo and Chris? Not a good idea!"_

"Hey, they are not going to kill each other!" Piper replied indignantly. _"Gosh! I can't believe it!"_

"Oh," was the reply she got from Phoebe. _"Are you sure with that?"_

"Well, Chris wanted to talk to Leo alone and I don't think that talk means kill," Piper explained as if they were stupid children. _"Don't be stupid!"_

"Yeah I agree," Paige said after a while though she did not sound convinced. _"For now..."_

"Does Leo know what's wrong with Chris?" Phoebe wanted to know and tried to change the subject. _"I hope he can heal him..."_

Piper in the meanwhile brought Wyatt's lunch and sat Wyatt in his baby chair. Wyatt squealed at her and thought: _"Daddy is going to fix the things here. Now I am hungry!"_

"This one is for my little sunshine" Piper said and let the spoon fly in Wyatt's mouth. Wyatt was happy. _"I wonder if Chris is already born in this time and if we should inform his parents that their son is going to die young... Wyatt – I couldn't stand the thought that I had to loose you this early... I mean how old is Chris anyway?"_

"Piper?"

"Yeah Leo said something like he knew what it could be but then Chris woke up and he had no chance to tell me," Piper told them, "We just have to wait for them to finish their talk."

"Great, so we have still no clue where we should start searching," Paige summarized a bit angrily. _"If Leo can't heal Chris we need to find an antidote..."_

"Well, maybe they are talking about a solution right now," Piper suggested. _"At least that's what I hope."_

* * *

As Chris´ coughing subsided he wanted to add something but his dad went flying over his head to the floor.

"_What the ***?" _Leo thought as he landed hard.

"Da... Damn it!" Chris cursed and whirled around but could not see anybody.

_Demons... I hate demons...!_

"Argh...," Leo groaned and tried to get up. But he was kicked twice in the ribcage.

"What are you? An invisible demon!" Chris shouted angrily while twisting around on the bed not trusting himself to stand up, "Show yourself!"

"Ha ha!" was the answer he got.

"Paigon? Is that you?" Chris asked with fearing dread and tried to get up from the bed.

"I would not do that if I were you little liar!" Paigon threatened and his voiced resounded from the walls.

_Why?_

Chris stood up and started to sway dangerously.

"Stop hurting him! It's a thing between you and me!" Chris yelled bravely although he knew that he would most likely not be able to do anything helpful.

_I can't let you kill him – Wyatt needs his daddy..._

"Chris, don't! I can help!" Leo cut in and got to his knees. He tried to meet Chris´ eyes but those were frantically darting around the room.

"Well elder, you have no clue whom you are talking to. You know neither one of us!" Paigon hissed and kicked Leo again.

"Shut up!" Chris screamed and took a step forward. He raised his arms and tried to appear threatening, "Come, take me or are you afraid to lose?"

"Apparently... you are a lot stronger then we thought Matt... or should I call you Chris H...," Pagon praised him with a low tone.

"I said shut up!" Chris shouted furiously, afraid that Pagon would spill his secret whilst not knowing how he even got to know it. Chris used his telekinesis against the invisible demon. Surprisingly for Leo it hit its target.

"But how did you...? I mean how...?" Leo asked incredulously as he heard Pagon connect with the wall nearby. Leo got to his knees again.

"Did you see me?" Paigon asked blankly as he recovered from the shock.

"One of my easiest practices – now let's get over with this. You want me, you can have me! But do _not_ harm anyone else in that house!" Chris demanded and took another step forward. _I can't let him harm dad._

"If you say so...," Paigon agreed who was now visible. He was standing next to Leo and dusting off his sleeves.

"No Chris...," Leo tried to get up. _"You will get yourself killed!"_

"Leave out of this elder!" Paigon hissed and threw an energy ball at him. Chris watched in horror as Leo barely made it in time to orb out of harm´s way.

"Another condition: I can fight back!" Chris yelled as he saw that Pagon would not heed his warnings. _"Dad has to stay `alive`!"_

"I don't know if that is going to be a problem for me, poor little Chris!" Paigon shouted back and wanted to attack Leo again.

"I... SAID... LEAVE... HIM... ALONE...!" Chris spoke each word with such a voice that even Leo shuddered. _"If you can't hear then you must pay!"_

"Try to stop me Chris!" Paigon suggested and threw the next energy ball at Leo.

"Energy Ball!" Chris orbed the ball away from Leo who sat stunned on the floor.

The energy ball was destroyed as Chris closed his hand around it. He was seething with anger. Somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered why he wanted to protect Leo so badly but he quickly dismissed this thought. He ignored his aching body and his weak powers and took another step forward.

_You are so dead!_

"Way way, Chris! Very good you can orb my ball around and make it go `poof` with your fist! Do you really want to vanquish me with that?" Pagon provoked him.

"Shut up!" Chris shouted and made a move with his hand that let Paigon suffocate.

_I will choke you to death. You can not kill anyone of my family! Do you understand that? Ups no you're a demon – sorry I forgot..._

"D I E !" Chris yelled with a voice made out of ice.

"No Chris!" Leo shouted but Chris already vanquished Paigon. _"The poison affects him – he gets more and more to the dark side!"_

Chris gasped in sudden excruciating pain and sank to his knees. _What have I done? Am I a killer?_

"I," he began but stopped as he sensed that another demon was in the room. "Get out of here Leo. NOW!" _First things first: Leo must be saved!_

"But Chris – why?" Leo replied but Chris orbed Leo out of the room. _"What's wrong?"_

"Come on Frank – you can take me. I don't fight back," Chris said in defeat. _"I can't take on Jo`s whole demon club alone..."_

"Well Chris... It's a shame," Frank replied and walked over to Chris.

"Don't tell me. But I die anyway right? So this way it's safer for all of us...," Chris told him.

_I will not die today!_

"Chris... You save those people downstairs. You did a wrong thing as you asked Jo for help. Now you have to face the consequences," Frank informed him with something close to pity.

"I know. It's not that I'm afraid... It's just... Never mind," Chris told him.

_I find a way to survive!_

"Well I do my job now," Frank announced and got closer.

"Go ahead," Chris invited him as he was still on his knees not looking up.

_Think Chris think!_

"If you say so," Frank dismissed his invitation.

"_Omnis quis in domo est et omnis quis..."_ Frank began to chant but he was vanquished too. Chris had broken his neck by using his telekinesis.

_I got it!_

"I did not say now," Chris commented dryly and added: "Okay guys you can come I will fight until I either die or be knocked out, you understand?"

Three demons shimmered in.

_Three more to go! But we can not fight here. Here is a child in the house... it does not need to see so much violence!_

"Okay then we fight!" one of them hissed.

"Then let's begin!" Chris announced ready to fight back with what little he had left.

* * *

"Leo?!" Piper exclaimed as she saw her husband orbing in. _"I hope they talked in peace..."_

Phoebe and Paige whirled around and Wyatt looked up to his daddy.

"We gotta go!" Leo shouted not missing a beat, _"Chris is going to get himself killed!"_

"What? Why?" Phoebe shot back. _"What's going on now?"_

"Where's Chris?" Paige asked. _"That's not good!"_

"No questions – come upstairs! Chris is in trouble!" Leo shouted, _"Hurry up guys!"_

Wyatt orbed upstairs immediately.

"Wyatt!" Piper screamed in horror. _"Oh no!"_

"Demons! They're in your bedroom!" Leo shouted at last and orbed after his son. _"Wyatt!"_

"Paige hurry!" Piper yelled at her sister in sudden panic. _"I need to help them!"_

Phoebe ran over to Paige and Paige was at Piper's side. The three of them orbed upstairs only to find the room empty. No Chris was in sight...

* * *

"What's wrong Jo?" a demon asked Jo.

"I think that we lost Frank too," Jo said in a monotone voice.

"Oh no," the demon replied with mock shock.

"Mike?" Jo inquired.

"Yeah?" the demon called Mike responded.

"I think this boy is way too powerful for a normal whitelighter," Jo informed him.

"I agree this potion kills every little good creature that is not powerful enough to survive this drink," Mike confirmed Jo´s suspicion.

"You forgot that it also has darklighter poison in it," Jo told him.

"Yeah Jo...," Mike trailed off.

"So how can this boy still fight back?" Jo asked angrily.

"I don't know... But he's from the future... maybe whitelighters are immune there...," Mike mused.

"Don't be ridiculous... But from the future?" Jo inquired.

"Yeah why?" Mike shrugged.

"I think I know who he is! It makes perfect sense now!" Jo clapped his hands in triumph.

"I can't follow you? Do you mind sharing your discovery?" Mike dared to ask.

"Mike! He is one of them!" Jo yelled at him unnerved at Mike´s stupidity.

"One of whom?" Mike asked quizzically.

"He is charmed! He is the son of one of the charmed ones!" Jo announced.

"That means he is part witch too...," Mike concluded.

"_That_ means that that is the reason why he can still fight back! I heard the rumors around here that Piper Halliwell will give birth to another boy. Not as powerful as Wyatt but still another son!" Jo rambled.

"Oh Jo! Do you mean that the seer warned you?" Mike asked.

"Cut the crap! I have plans for him!" Jo snapped at him.

"What plans?" Mike inquired.

"Just wait and see. But we have to hurry before he dies because he can't survive this no matter how powerful he is!" Jo yelled.

"Okay!" Mike relented.

Mike and Jo shimmered out.

* * *

Chris was on a field that was not used anymore. He was fighting against a couple of demons all the while clutching his stomach.

_I could vomit again... But there is nothing left in my stomach..._

"Does it hurt there little boy?" one of the demons taunted him.

_Oh come on! You're a demon! I don't need your pity..._

"Shut up!" Chris shot back angrily and prevented another one from attacking him head on.

"I would say that the darklighter poison is killing you, whitelighter-scum!" another one said triumphantly.

_As if that is not obvious..._

"Really? Is that so?" Chris tried to sound too surprised. But he already knew it.

He kept fighting.

_Here or there I die anywhere... but it's better if I die trying to save Wyatt..._

* * *

"Where is he?" Piper shouted in terror. _"Chris where are you now?"_

"Cwis!" Wyatt shouted terrified. _"Are you okay brother?"_

"Chris!" Leo shouted desperately. _"He is in no condition to take on those demons alone!"_

"Guys!" Phoebe shouted in anguish. "Your worry is killing me!" _"Add up to mine of course..."_

"Phoebe! Chris could be anywhere!" Piper yelled at her sister. _"Do something! Bring him back! Take me to him!"_

"I know honey and I can still hear at normal volume..." Phoebe replied sobbing. _"Piper I can't help you not now... I don't know what to do either..."_

"Paige? Can you see him?" Piper asked her other sister desperately._ "Please say that he is okay!"_

"No, he is not in the bathroom and the window is closed," she answered and knew that that would kill Piper. _"Oh Piper I'm sorry..."_

"That means that he orbed!" Piper yelled. "HE ORBED!" _"oh no... not good!"_

"Yeah we've heard Piper!" Phoebe replied trying to control her new power. _"Piper calm down – we need a plan."_

"Cwis?" Wyatt asked. _"Oh no... Chris where are you? I can't sense you!"_

"Right sweetie! Chris will vomit again! Whenever he orbs he does that..." Piper whispered. _"WE NEED TO FIND HIM AND TIE HIM TO THE BED!"_

"Piper calm down! We have to find him!" Leo told his wife – err ex-wife... _"I hope he is still alive..."_

"Okay guys... Can we scry for him?" Paige suggested timidly. _"We need to do anything to get him back – we owe him this much... He left his TIME to help US..."_

"No he is no wit...," Piper began as two demons shimmered in. _"You can't scry for pure whitelighters... Where did those two come from?"_

Wyatt immediately raised up his shield. _"Very bad demons..."_

"Whoa young boy!" Jo said. _"So this is the infamous shield of Wyatt Matthew Halliwell... impressive it seems to be thick. He has a very powerful brother..."_

Piper raised her hands and glared at Jo. _"One step and you're dead!"_

"Whoa Piper!" Jo spoke. _"The oldest of them with the power to blow things up... interesting... his mommy!"_

"Who are you and where do you know my name from?" Piper demanded threatening him with her hands. _"Is that a demon in a human body or a human with demonic powers?"_

"I know you," Leo informed them and the sisters turned to him astonished. _"This is so bad..."_

"You're Jo. The upper-level demon that is found guilty in at least 30 cases!" Leo finished. _"You sick bastard I should kill you right here!"_

"Well elder, I'm surprised! You know me!" Jo said unsurprised. _"Shit the father is here too... an elder..."_

"Leo, why, how?" Piper asked surprised and looked at Leo. _"Leo knows demons?"_

"He almost killed one of the elders... and he killed a lot of innocent witches," Leo told them. "He is known for his friendly attitude and his human body. But the most dangerous thing is that if you accept a drink from him... well let's say that's the last thing you do if you are a good magical being." _"Chris that is a very bad companion!"_

"Well well, Elder!" Jo interrupted. "To cut that short your whitelighter is my newest victim!" _"He nearly ruined my plan!"_

"Yeah and he dies soon!" Mike said. _"I like that part where they die screaming..."_

"Don't you say that!" Piper hissed. _"As long as I'm here Chris lives!"_

"Don't Piper!" Jo warned her. "You vanquish Mike and you never will get the antidote!" _"Come on you can't let Chris down – you owe him... and he's your son!"_

"Bastard!" Leo cursed. _"He poisoned Chris already. I wonder how much time is left before he di..."_

"Leo?" said Paige astonished once more. _"He cursed?"_

Wyatt was very worried now. This demon looked too nice... What if his brother was really going to die?

"How brave of that _bastard_ to orb out of this house. He did not want to let the child see so much violence," Jo mock praised Chris. _"I wonder if they really know who Chris is..."_

"Chris does this to protect Wyatt," Piper repeated in a monotone voice. _"Chris is really brave – even in his condition is Wyatt his first thought..."_

"What do you want in exchange for the antidote?" Phoebe asked Jo bringing everyone back to business._ "I hope it's nothing too much to handle..."_

"We want to have the child and your book of shadows," Mike proposed. _"You will never agree to that..."_

Piper gasped. "You never get Wyatt," she heard Leo say. She was too shocked to react. _"Wyatt for Chris? No way. Wyatt is my son. I could not give him away. NEVER! But what about Chris then?"_

"Is that your last answer elder?" Jo provoked Leo. _"Poor boy such horrible parents..."_

"We can save Chris with our own remedies!" Paige announced determined. _"At least I hope so..."_

"He is special but Wyatt is my nephew he comes first!" Phoebe declared. _"Sorry Chris but we find a way to save you, too!"_

"My little sunshine stays by my side!" Piper declared. _"And Chris comes back I swear!"_

"Wyatt belongs here!" Leo added in a firm voice. _"Chris too but Wyatt comes first!"_

"Cwis?" Wyatt asked. _"Oh no! They want to sacrifice him for me... Chris!"_

"If that is your wish then I am very happy to tell you that you sacrificed one of your own blood right now. I hope you can live with that thought!" Jo laughed evilly. "I hope he is still alive so that I can tell him that Wyatt was chosen over him _again_! Ha ha!"

Jo shimmered out of the room.

"Poor boy. Gave up everything for the family and earns nothing... Now he dies... Good bye Charmed Ones! But be reminded that you killed a charmed son! I love when we win – and we always win!" Mike shimmered out too.

"Did he just say that Chris is family?" Piper asked shocked. _"But how? How is that possible? Whose child is he?"_

"I think he did...," Paige stuttered. _"Does he belong to me and Richard?"_

"Chris is one of us?" Phoebe whispered. _"I can't believe it..."_

"So he is part witch, too... That would explain why he is still alive...," Leo thought out aloud. "I wonder whose child he is..."

"Cwis!" Wyatt said angry but also happy that his family seemed to know now Chris` biggest secret. "Cwis!"

"What?!" Piper exclaimed. _"Brother? Could he be Wyatt's brother?"_

"Wyatt, are you saying...?" Leo asked. _"Brother? Wyatt´s brother?"_

"He is only a child how should he know?" Paige wondered. _"Wyatt's brother?"_

"That's it!" Piper concluded. _"I should have known!"_

"What?" Phoebe asked. _"She knew?"_

"Wyatt was so friendly to Chris because he knew that he is his baby brother. That all makes perfect sense now!" Piper announced. _"My child is so special!"_

"You mean he ... that Chris is your son?" it was more a statement than a question of Phoebe. _"Wow"_

"I think... oh my god...!" finally it made "click" by Piper. _"Chris is my son... my second child..."_

"He is my son!" Leo whispered shocked. "Or isn't he?" _"What if Piper and I don't get together again? Whose child is he?"_

"I don't know... Only if you two come together again...," Paige said in a matter of fact tone. _"That is not the right time to discuss this!"_

"Oh my god! My second son risked his very existence to save his brother!" Piper was shocked. "How could he do that? Why didn't I stop him?" _"What a mother am I in the future? One kid evil and the other one kills himself?"_

"Piper! Calm down! You can ask him later – we have to find and save him first!" Leo said. _"VERY SOON!"_

Tbc...

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it! And I fixed the part where Wyatt could talk already. Thanks for pointing that out. Of course at that age he could not be able to do that.

Thanks for your feedback


	11. Torture

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 11: Torture**

**WARNING: _THIS CHAPTER HAS A LOT OF VIOLENCE IN IT! IF YOU DO NOT LIKE TO READ SUCH THINGS THEN YOU SHOULD SKIP THIS CHAPTER..._**

"Okay, where did he go?" Piper mused while she paced restlessly. _"Where could he be?"_

"I don't know Piper," Leo admitted guiltily as he failed to sense his second born._ "He shut me off the radar..."_

"Can anyone sense him?" Paige asked hopefully. _"I can`t..."_

"So who can?" Phoebe pressed. _"Maybe we find him..."_

"I can`t," Leo sighed defeated. _"One time in the world when I need my powers they do not work."_

"Me neither," Paige´s shoulders sank. _"I wish I could do more..."_

"But first we need a vanquishing potion for this demon-guy," Piper announced suddenly. _"But which one is powerful enough?"_

They all looked around helplessly.

* * *

Chris was at his minimum power level.

He had suffered from several injuries so far. One energy ball had hit his bare torso but it was only a scratch. He had survived more serious wounds before.

His head was thrown against a wall and he suffered a laceration. It was bleeding heavily but he guessed all head wounds did that. It seemed worse than it was. After all he was still standing.

Several kicks had succeeded to find their way to Chris` body and leave bruises. Chris was not going down so easily, however. The demons knew that now but would it be enough in the end? Would he be able to survive?

_I can`t fight for much longer... At least I took some demons out..._

"Well Matt, you are really good! And you are truly one of the charmed ones! So much power even when you are heavily poisoned," Jo praised him as he had shimmered in, "Or should I call you Chris?"

_So he knows my identity..._

"What?!" Mike exclaimed who had shimmered next to Jo. "He took out fifty demons!" His gaze wandered over the battle field and sudden unknown fear developed in Mike.

_Fifty? Wow..._

"Fifty?" Jo repeated unimpressed, "It`s your own fault if you hire lower-level demons to do the job!"

_Thought so..._

"Well, there had been at least three upper level demons!" Mike tried to defend his tactics.

_Wow... now I am scared..._

"If you say so...," Jo retorted and turned his attention to Chris, "So Chris, you are going to die in a very cold area! I want to let you suffer more before I kill you!"

_Try – bastard!_

"Do you not want to reply or did the cat get your tongue?" Mike provoked Chris.

_I don`t need to answer you!_

"He is probably all worn out Mike. Let`s shimmer him there – I don`t think that he can orb himself anywhere anymore," Jo spoke in disdain.

_Try..._

Jo tried to shimmer Chris away but somehow Chris was still at his space. With all of his might Chris fought against the feeling of the shimmer power.

"What the hell...? How did you do this?!" Jo shouted angrily. His plan was failing before he even had a chance to unleash it, "Where do you have your powers from?!"

"I ... thought ... you knew...," Chris stammered out between quick breathes. He needed to finish them quickly and then get a long nice rest.

"Don`t get too cocky!" Jo screamed now frustrated. He shot a glaze to one of the demons around and that one nodded at the unspoken command of his master.

It shot glances to his other companions.

_What has he planned now?_

Chris looked around worriedly. There were at least four demons approaching. They had no energy balls or athames but somehow that did not comfort Chris. All the while Jo was smiling evilly.

Suddenly one of the demons grabbed Chris under his arms as if he wanted to lift him up. Chris hadn´t even noticed that it was behind him. His sluggish reaction allowed the next one to grab one of Chris` arms and the third one to grab the other arm. Chris tried to struggle free or use his orbing power to escape but nothing would work.

_What is that for? And why can`t I orb out?_

"Don`t even think about an escape! We blocked your orbing power! And you`re too weak to run!" Mike yelled triumphantly.

_But why?_

Then Chris knew. And he wished he didn´t.

_No no no no no no no... God no..._

The fourth demon appeared at his left side. Unable to do anything to get away from the three demons that already had their filthy hands on him he tried to kick out at the fourth demon. He did not fall down because those three had a tight grip on him but the fourth seemed to be prepared for his feeble attempt to fight against them. He grabbed his left leg with his right hand just under the knee and with his other hand he seized Chris´ ankle.

As Chris watched in dawning realization; his eyes widened in the slightest bit. The demon took his time to look up into his prey´s eyes and smile. Then without further delay he twisted first the ankle and then used the broken bone and his firm grip on Chris´ knee to twist the lower leg until it cracked.

Chris tried his hardest but he couldn´t keep from screaming in agony. The three demons kept their firm grip on him until he had no breath left to scream. His throat was dry and his eyes red but he refused to cry.

Jo laughed as if someone had just told that sick bastard a very good joke. _"Gottcha!"_

With a sign all of them shimmered out taking Chris with them.

* * *

"Nearly ready – I tried to make a potion as strong as possible!" Paige announced with determination. _"I hope this one helps!"_

"Okay Paige that`s a start!" Phoebe replied while rocking a crying Wyatt. _"I wonder if we succeed."_

Wyatt was upset; he could feel how Chris weakened but he couldn`t sense his correct position as if someone was shielding him from his brother.

"I still can`t sense him," Leo said crestfallen as he orbed in from the elders. _"Where are you Chris?"_

"And they could not find him either," concluded Piper angrily. She was scrying for her second son; so far without result. _"That`s normal... they cannot help."_

"Do you think he is shielded somehow?" Paige suggested. _"That would explain a lot."_

"Why? Do you think he is kidnapped?" Phoebe asked in horror. _"Oh Chris!"_

"Better than to think that he...," Paige commented without thinking. _"died"_

"That he what?" Piper pressed. _"Don`t you dare say that he is dead."_

Suddenly Wyatt stopped crying.

"Wyatt?" Phoebe asked her little nephew. _"Has he calmed down?"_

"Cwis!" he shouted and orbed out along with Phoebe.

"Phoebe! WYATT!" Piper yelled shocked. How many times would her little angel do that? Was it for the third time today?

"Come on, let`s orb after them!" Leo shouted and ran over to Piper. As soon as he grabbed her arm he vanished into blue orbs and took her with him.

Paige filled the little bottles and orbed along.

* * *

"Why... are... you... doing... this?" Chris wheezed. _Can`t you just kill me? Why torturing?_

Chris was lying on his left side and breathed heavily. He thought that at least one or two ribs had not taken the kicks to them very well. He dared not to assess his current predicament.

One of his eyes was swollen and his lip bled where it had cracked as several fists had connected with it. His headache was back with a vengeance. His throat was still dry and he felt like a man who just spent the last days in a desert.

His left leg lay in a twisted form awkwardly on the ground. It was broken just below the knee and Chris dared not to move a muscle. One of the demons was cruelly standing on his lower leg keeping him even from squirming.

His right arm was currently held up by a demon. The demon had a firm grip on his wrist though he did not break that, too. The demon enjoyed to break one finger after the other instead. So far he had almost broken his index finger but Jo had stopped him.

"So Chris, if you answer my question he won`t break your index finger," Jo whispered into his ear, "If you do not answer or you lie or you do anything at all that is not as I wish then you ... well I guess you know."

Chris glared at him keeping himself rigid. He breathed heavily in and out but did nothing else.

_What have I gotten myself into now?_

"Be nice Chris – maybe you live a little bit longer then," Mike told him from afar. That bastard had not even joined this sick game so far.

_Great advice..._

"First question: Are you from the future?" Jo inquired in a whisper. Chris could feel and smell his foul breath hot against his cheek right next to his right ear. From the corner of his eyes he watched Jo.

_Why did I not know it?_

But Chris kept quiet. He just breathed in and out trying not to move too much.

_Let`s see if you keep your word..._

"Last chance or you loose a finger: ARE YOU FROM THE FUTURE?" Jo asked louder this time as he rocked back on his feet.

_Okay..._

Chris sighed in defeat as the demon that held his finger began to squeeze it backwards rather painfully.

_Wait... wait!_

"_Yes_!" he admitted in a defeated tone. He tried to brace himself for the pain.

_Man... that was close..._

"Wait," Jo ordered the demon to stop immediately. "That was tight Chris!" Jo informed him disapprovingly.

_I know..._

Chris glared at him once more. He had just revealed something the demon had already known but somehow he still thought that he had failed. He kept breathing in and out but it was also hurting now as the shock subsided. His ribs had definitely taken damage. He could feel the pain more clearly now.

_I wish I could kill you..._

"If I think again, however," Jo said in a pensive mood and put a hand to his chin as if in deep thought, "this was bad behavior. Go ahead."

He nodded towards the demon, stood up and moved a bit backwards.

_What?_

Before Chris´ sluggish reaction could catch up with what was just revealed to him he felt the hand on his index finger return. His gaze wandered in slow motion towards his right hand and he watched as an outsider how that bastard twisted it all the way backwards in one swift motion only to move it back and forth after it was broken. He looked like he had the fun of his life.

_I won`t give you the pleasure and scream..._

Chris did not scream this time. It took all of his willpower but he managed to keep quiet. His pain filled eyes were the only thing that betrayed his defiance.

"This is no fun if you do not scream!" Jo complained rather annoyed and ordered the other demon to step on the broken leg.

_Bastard! This hurts like hell!_

Now Chris couldn´t help but scream. There was only so much shock could do to help you ignore your body being on fire. Some sickening crunch reached Chris´ ears and he resisted the urge to retch.

_You`re dead!_

Jo laughed again. Now he seemed almost satisfied and proud of himself: "Well, it works everytime."

"Now let´s get to the next question," Jo leaned down to him once more, "And remember Chris you only got nine fingers left."

"Is Piper Halliwell your mother?" Jo asked as he grabbed a handful of Chris´ hair and pulled his head backwards rather painfully.

_Great...Nine fingers left, ten tows, two ears, two eyes and God only knows what else... How can I get out of this mess?_

* * *

Wyatt and Phoebe rematerialized on the field where Chris and the demons had shimmered away only seconds before.

Phoebe fell on her butt.

"Wyatt!" she exclaimed and wanted to scold him for orbing her off in the middle of a crisis but as she saw how worried he looked she kept quiet and looked at him closely.

Wyatt looked around worriedly. _"Where is he?" _Then he saw the blood. There were spots which looked like puddles.

Phoebe looked at Wyatt and wondered: _"Why are we here?"_

Leo and Piper orbed in shortly after that and both ran over to Wyatt.

"Wyatt honey! Don`t do that again!" Piper said scared to death as she stroked through his hair happy to see him fine, "You scared mommy half to death!" _"Why does he orb out? Has he found Chris?"_

"Wyatt! Mommy and I were very worried!" Leo added and added a loving hand on his son´s shoulder, "Don´t do that again." _"He is okay – thank God. At least one child is okay."_

Paige orbed there ready to throw the potions.

"Huh? Where is this demon and where is Chris?" she asked as she spotted neither of them. _"What did I miss?"_

"Paige, we don`t know" Phoebe said and stood up. _"I have the same questions..."_

"Then why are we here?" Paige asked puzzled. _"Why?"_

"Cwis!" Wyatt insisted suddenly and pointed to the ground.

Then all of them saw it. The ground in front of them was covered in red blood which was still warm to the touch. The grass was tramped down and there at least six different sets of footprints.

Some trees still smoked where an energy ball had connected with them. But aside from this marks the surroundings looked almost peaceful.

"Oh my god! He is injured!" Piper exclaimed as she took in the horrible sight in front of her, "My baby lost a lot of blood!"

She sobbed heavily and leaned on Leo. _"Is he even... Is he even alive?"_

"Piper, we are going to find him and heal him," Leo tried to soothe her. He rubbed her arms. "If he is the one that lost all this blood," Leo added with emphasis not ready to believe it. _"Chris, how are you? Where are you?"_

Wyatt tried to sense his brother. _"Come on Chris answer me!"_

"Maybe we can scry with that for him!" Paige suggested eager to help and walked over to the blood. She crouched down and already held a pipette at ready. _"At least I hope so..."_

"_What is that? His protection is lowering... I can sense Chris... He is so weak... Oh no!"_

"I got him!" Leo announced suddenly alarmed. "Let`s go!"

* * *

All of them understood and orbed out.

They arrived just at the moment as Jo asked Chris the second time if he was Piper Halliwell´s son and the child of an elder.

Chris who did not notice their arrival and fearing further injuries before his death answered in a small and broken voice.

"Yes."

_Here or there I am dead anywhere I just hope that they will know the truth when I`m born... They need to focus on Wyatt now... Not on me... Oh Wyatt I am so sorry that you knew... _

Jo had noticed the Charmed Ones, smirked and asked Chris again.

"What was that? I did not hear you Chris!" Jo gripped the hair tighter and pulled Chris´ head back further.

_You gotta be kidding me!_

The other demon began to twist the next finger.

_Can`t this end?_

"I said," he wheezed out, "that I am, um..., Piper Halliwell`s, um..., one of the Charmed Ones," he had to take a breath and spit out some blood before he could continue to stutter in shame, "and Leo Wyatt`s, an elder..." Again he had to swallow to get more words past his dry throat.

"That I am, um.., _their_ son," Chris pressed out between clenched teeth and in pain. The grip on his hair loosened somewhat but Chris knew it was far from over.

_I hope they will never know how I died... I am a shame to the name of Halliwell..._

"Very well Chris – should I ask your _mom and dad_ then how they think about you?" Jo asked and grinned evilly. He knew that they were already here and that Chris was still oblivious to the fact, "Or should we ask _your beloved big brother_ Wyatt?"

_What the hell?_

"Don`t talk about them!" Chris hissed at him and turned seething eyes towards Jo. The demon that held his wrist tightened his grip; Jo tightened his grip on Chris´ hair again and Chris earned a kick to his ribcage in return by the third demon.

Chris coughed up more blood and tried not to writhe in pain for it might move his injured leg.

_Bastards! If I weren´t so sick right now I would never tell you anything. What have you done to me?_

"No, no! Not so rude Chris!" Jo scolded him and tugged at the hair warningly. "They won`t help you! You mean nothing to them!"

_That`s not true!_

"They are _my_ family!" Chris shouted. He immediately felt sorry for it as he had to cough heavily and received another kick to his ribcage.

_I just have to be born... Maybe dad gets nicer this time around... if I change my behavior and be a good boy... but I just have to be born. If I die here I will fail for sure but my past self could still make a difference._

"I can kill them!" Jo said to Chris in a foul mood. Chris did not dare to hope. Jo added, "Then you would not even be born! Now who could I torture then?" Jo laughed humorlessly.

_You won`t! If you try to harm them I swear I will come back from the dead and haunt your sorry a**._

"Don´t you _dare_ harm them!" Chris threatened. His voice was quiet but strong. He stared up at his captor and glared at him.

"Shut up!" Jo hissed and pushed Chris´ head to the ground. With a nod he let the other demon step on Chris` leg again. The crunching sound was back and so was the sickening feeling.

This time, however, Chris did not scream. Instead he used his last strength to attack Jo one last desperate time...

* * *

**Change of scene... back to where the sisters Leo and Wyatt orbed in... all of that now in their POV:**

They arrived at the moment as Jo asked Chris the second time if he was Piper Halliwells son and the child of an elder.

Piper held her breath not daring to draw in a breath as she looked at what must have been the cruellest scene to her since Prue´s death. _"What does he answer? He looks so beaten up!" _

Leo was near tears as he spotted Chris lying there helplessly in the clutches of at least six demons. _"Oh Chris! I am so sorry!"_

Wyatt could not look at his brother. Even at his little age he knew what it was like to feel pain. He would often fall over and hurt a knee. But as he saw his brother lying there, bleeding and hurting, he felt sick. _"Why is his leg so...? And his face?"_

Paige and Phoebe held each others´ hands. They clung to each other as if they tried to wake themselves from a terrible nightmare. Each of them thought. _"Oh my god!"_

"Yes," Chris answer was barely audible to them. Yet at the same time it broke their hearts as realization took home.

Piper`s heart sank. _"It`s really true... He is my son..." _She felt empty inside as she recollected the last weeks and months with this stranger who now turned out to be her son. Then her emotions changed from hollow to shock to anger to sadness to simply terrified madness.

Leo gasped almost choked. He knew he had treated Chris horribly and was in return treated horribly but for Chris being his son... _"Oh Chris... my poor boy"_

"_Oh Chris!" _Wyatt thought fearing the worst.

"What was that? I did not hear you Chris!" they heard the demon guy called Jo ask again as he pulled at Chris´ hair.

"Is he deaf?" Phoebe whispered as she watched in horror and denial. _"He can´t possibly ..."_

"I don`t know Pheebs," Paige whispered back as she shook her head slowly from side to side. _"Do not hurt him..."_

"_Chris!" _Wyatt was very worried.

The sudden revelation left all five of them paralyzed.

The other demon began to twist the next finger.

"_Don`t hurt my boy!" _Piper wanted to cry out. She stood still, her breath was slow. She stared in shock as if she just watched a cruel scene play in front of her. One which she could do nothing against. Then slowly, rather painfully, her thoughts changed. She considered attacking the demons and rescuing what was left of her son.

"I said," they heard Chris wheeze out, "that I am, um..., Piper Halliwell`s, um..., one of the Charmed Ones," they saw how he had to take a breath and spit out some blood before he could continue to stutter in shame, "and Leo Wyatt`s, an elder..." Again he had to swallow to get more words past his dry throat.

"That I am, um.., _their_ son."

The world seemed to stop. No one dared to move a muscle or take a breath in. Surely this had to be a mistake or some terrible joke.

As Jo had asked the question and Chris had answered with a horrible clear 'yes' they had tried to deny the truth. They had tried to face away, go back to their normal life where a certain neurotic whitelighter was nothing more or less than a pain in the a**.

But as they listened rooted to the spot where they were standing to the painfully slow declaration of Chris they had to take it for true. They had watched him every day, they had seen him, they had talked to him but never before had any of them suspected anything. Well, except for Wyatt maybe.

They recalled all the times they had insulted him, threatened him or just simply ignored him. They thought about how they treated him, how they were suspicious at and angry with him.

It took six demons, a good handful of torture, poison and the thought of being alone and about to die to loosen Chris´ tongue about his true identity. Sure he had told them that he was Chris Perry from the future. He just seemed to have forgotten to mention that he was a Halliwell; Wyatt´s little brother.

Paige thought she was going to be sick. The neurotic little whitelighter was her nephew. She remembered that she wanted to ask him for advice this morning. She almost had to smile at the irony. Wasn´t it up for the aunt to teach little nephews stuff? Her heart clenched as she watched the scene in front of her. How much more would this family have to suffer?

Phoebe was certain that she should feel anything, anything at all. But she felt empty; she felt nothing and everything at the same time. It left her with the uneasy feeling that she had not really got what had just been revealed. Chris was her nephew? How could this possibly be true? Yet, as she was beginning to feel sorrow and something akin to family ties she began to accept the truth.

Piper stood and thought. Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized that her cheeks were wet. She had to be crying. Her body was quicker to accept what she had heard than her head. As she watched unable to come to a clear thought and to take action she felt Leo´s hand reach out for her and touch her. The almost hurting grip on her arm did nothing to bring her back to reality as she felt horrible.

Leo was standing next to her. He was closer to her than any time before in the last few weeks. He had grown apart from Piper because of a certain whitelighter and his elder duties. Now as he witnessed how Chris testified to being his and Piper´s son he felt an enormous guilt trying to crush him down. He had been so distrustful and angry. He gripped Piper´s arm to steady himself as his emotions threatened to knock him over. At last Leo´s worry turned into anger against Jo.

He just wanted to intervene, to fight, to maim, as he heard Jo say:

"Very well Chris – should I ask your _mom and dad_ then how they think about you?" Jo asked and grinned evilly. "Or should we ask _your brother_ Wyatt?"

"Don`t talk about them!" Chris hissed and earned a kick to his ribcage in return.

Leo watched as his son was kicked hard in the ribcage as he tried to defend his family. He felt so awful for treating Chris like shit before... If only he had known...

Piper could not take it anymore. Her son ... by defending what was the most precious gift in his life he got kicked all the while lying on the ground like some fish out of the water.

"No, no! Not so rude Chris!" Jo scolded him. "They won`t help you! You mean nothing to them!"

"_That is not true!" _Piper thought immediately. She was beginning to feel very protective of Chris. As she watched and listened some more her resolve tightened and she could feel her foot take the first step forward.

"_We`re here son! We do help you!" _Leo protested in his mind. His anger was urging him forward to aid his son.

Wyatt looked over at his brother again: _"I am here Chris! I`ll help you!"_

Phoebe promised silently and vowed to Chris ready to help him: _"Nephew of mine... you can count on me!"_

Paige was indignant: _"You damn liar! We are here for him!"_

"They are_ my_ family!" Chris shouted and received another kick.

Piper cried again. _"I am so proud of you! You love your family more than anything else on the world!" _Her resolve to help him turned to anger.

"_Oh son! If only I knew earlier!" _Leo thought the guilt trying to eat him away. But his anger was burning.

"I can kill them! Then you won`t be born!" Jo announced.

"_Try if you are brave enough!" _Piper threatened him and finally her other foot followed the first one. She just had to get over there and get her little baby to safety. No one would mess with her.

"_You won`t succeed!"_ Leo promised and took a step forward to keep up with Piper.

"Don´t you _dare_ harm them!" Chris threatened.

"Shut up!" Jo hissed and pushed Chris´ head to the ground. With a nod he let the other demon step on Chris` leg again. The crunching sound was back and so was the sickening feeling.

This time, however, Chris did not scream. Instead he used his last strength to attack Jo one last desperate time...

"_Chris no!"_ Leo screamed in his mind. _"You could kill yourself if you use up all of your power!" _ He took to a run towards his son.

Piper exploded. Something in her flipped a switch and she rushed forward in frenzy. She threw up her arms and blew up the demon that had stepped on Chris leg again. She was determined to save her son and looked like a fury. She did not waste a second thought on why she had taken so damn long to rush forward and end this. She had only a single goal in mind: save Chris.

Leo ran alongside her but then decided better of it and orbed over to Chris. He rematerialized next to his fallen son who was now free of the demon that had trampled on his broken leg. He did not care about the demon that was gripping Chris´ wrist because he knew Piper would make short shrift of it.

Leo got in front of Chris who struggled to stay upright as he used his hands to release his telekinesis. Before he could unleash his last surge of magical power though Leo grabbed his hands to prevent him from an attack. Leo had to use more strength than he had anticipated and from the looks of it had managed to hurt Chris.

As pain filled eyes with deadly intent turned towards him Leo had to gulp down a lump in his throat. For a few agonizing seconds Leo was not sure if Chris was going to recognize him or if he just lost his son to madness. A violent tug on his hands told him that Chris was indeed not recognizing him but rather trying to break free.

Without minding his son´s injuries Leo kept his firm grip on his boy´s hands.

Wyatt had orbed after his daddy and as soon as he rematerialized next to him he put up his shield. A blue bubble of about 2 m Diameter appeared around them and protected his daddy and brother.

Paige and Phoebe came out of their stupor shortly after the parents. They attacked the other demons around. Phoebe rushed over to one and kicked him repeatedly. She was running on rage, her own and that which she felt through her emphasis power of Leo, Piper and Paige. Paige threw a variety of vanquishing potions at the other demon while orbing back energy balls that were thrown at her. Together with Phoebe they made short shrift of the two demons.

_DAD? What are you doing here? _Chris thought he recognized the face in front of him. The person who was currently restraining his hands as if his life depended on it looked just like Leo. Chris´ tried to break free and to clear his vision. He blinked several times.

"Easy Chris," Leo spoke softly as he gripped Chris´ hands tighter. He sensed the renewed struggle of Chris, "I am not here to harm you, Chris. Do not use up your last strength." _"Please Chris listen to me!"_

Leo hoped that the blinking of his eyes meant that his words were getting through to Chris. He did not like having to harm him in order to save him more pain later.

_How much did he overhear?_

Chris was not sure but his eyes told him that Leo had replaced the demons and was now standing over him. Was he here to harm him? Was he here to punish him?

"I don`t understand," Chris mumbled confused. His last energy spent on a feeble attempt to escape Leo Chris resigned himself to his fate and let his arms go limb. He let his head hung in shame as he stared at the ground and waited for Leo to slap him.

"Shh. Do not talk," Leo soothed Chris as he slowly let go of Chris´ wrists, "We will handle this!" _"Please Chris obey" _He was relieved that Chris had ceased to struggle.

_Oh no... He knows... He is sounding like he does not want to hit me, he is actually sound like he cares about me..._

"But," Chris began to protest and to test his luck. He even dared lift his head and look up at Leo.

_I can`t believe it!_

"No, Chris! You stay still here!" Leo demanded as he threw up his arms in desperation. _"Sorry for my harsh tone" _

Chris saw the movement of the arms and flinched assuming he was going to be punished for talking back. As he obeyed to stay still and did not speak he was surprised to feel no hit.

Leo had witnessed how his son had flinched as he had only thrown up his arms. He did not like to think about what would make Chris react in this way but he felt compelled to reassure the frightened and hurt boy from the future.

"Chris?" Leo sighed as he crouched down next to him. He added in a gentle tone, "Do not be afraid, son."

"Oh Chris, your daddy is here! And mommy and brother Wyatt... Oh and not to forget your aunts!" Jo taunted Chris.

"Yes and we are going to kick your ass!" Piper exclaimed as she stood in front of him. _"Do not worry Chris mommy is here!"_

_Mom? _Chris´ mind finally realized that he was in the past. He had just barely escaped demon clutches and was now in the middle of a battle field with the past versions of his family who just happened to be there when he, tired, sick and hurt as he was, confessed to being a Halliwell. Seriously why was the whole universe against him? He just wanted to rid the world of a maniac called Wyatt Halliwell.

"Huh? Excuse me? What did you say?" Jo asked innocently.

"I ... said... you ... are... DEAD!" Piper repeated and blew JO up with a power surge that she got as she took another look at her battered and bruised boy. But as expected he was not vanquished. _"You are going to die here one way or another!"_

"Little witch! You may be one of the Charmed Ones but you can`t kill me with that power!" Jo laughed as he backed further away from Chris and Leo and stood up, "And you can`t stay all the time behind your son`s shield either!"

"I agree to that but WE can kill you!" Piper replied with determination. _"Just watch!"_

_Mom! Be careful please!_

"Piper!" Chris shouted behind a small coughing fit, "You have to kill Mike first!" He pointed to a demon that stood a good few paces away.

Piper flinched as she heard him call her Piper instead of mom. _"But why should he?"_

"Chris! No talking!" Leo scolded him again and added softly: "We can handle this!"

_Dad are you serious?_

"Leo, no!" Chris insisted and tried to get himself into a sitting position and to get his hands free, "I have to help her!"

Leo pushed Chris softly but firmly back down with one hand and used his other to grip Chris´ wrists again. He held him down and looked him deep in the eyes.

"Even if I have to use violence to keep you here you will stay! Let us take this over!" he was sounding harsh but he had to get Chris to agree.

"Leo!" Chris tried again but with less force.

"Do I need to gag you?" Leo threatened and let his eyes shortly move towards his belt and back to Chris.

Chris was shocked and fell silent. He closed his eyes in defeat and horror.

"Listen Chris... it was not meant this harsh. Really I`m sorry," Leo quickly apologized as he felt the small shudder run through his body, saw that Chris closed his eyes and saw the slightest contortion of pain in his son´s features.

Chris turned his head away form his father and pressed his eyes close together to ride through the pain the small shudder had caused.

_That can`t be true... not true... this is not true!_

"It seems that you are helpless!" Jo announced as Piper had stopped blowing him up after the 100th time.

"Maybe, but now you`re dead!" Piper retorted. _"Thank God that this tactic worked!"_

"Yeah is that so?" JO replied at ease, "Why?"

"Because of this little bottle here!" Paige announced as Jo could watch Phoebe throwing another bottle at Mike who burst into flames.

"Wait!" Jo shouted but Paige already threw two more bottles at him.

"NO!" Jo screamed in agony as he was engulfed in hot red flames and vanished.

Wyatt lowered his shield and his aunts ran over to them.

"Good timing Paige!" Phoebe praised her sister and dusted off some blood of the demon she had kicked until he had bled.

"Yeah thanks to Piper she distracted the guy long enough for us to come behind him..." Paige replied but stopped short as she watched the scene before her.

Piper and Leo were by their son`s side.

Chris breathing was labored and his eyes were closed as he was turned away from Leo.

"Chris?" Piper asked tentatively. _"Hey are you alive? How are you? I love you... I`m sorry... sweetie you`re my boy..."_

"What is it?" Chris replied softly and corrected his response quickly by a soft, "Err...thanks for rescuing me"

Piper had tears in her eyes as she heard his words. She did not dare reach out and touch him yet. _"Chris! You`re my son! I would do it again in a heartbeat!"_

"Oh Chris... _we_ bring you _home,_" she declared with determination. _"I won`t be cruel to you again!"_

_Home? So she knows, too. I am screwed._

"Cwis?" Wyatt asked afraid. _"You don`t look too good brother!"_

"Wy... I`m fine...," Chris replied, opened his eyes and turned his head to look at his brother. _Please do not worry... I don`t want to be the reason why you turn..._

"Chris! Cut the crap you look like hell!" Piper protested and was back to feeling angry. _"You`re not fine!"_

_She is really worried about me... She only talks like that when she is very worried... Oh mom... I miss you so much..._

"Leo, heal him" Piper ordered her ex-husband. _"Then I have to have a serious talking with him..."_

"Chris do you mind?" Leo asked carefully. As he waited for his son´s reaction. After last time Leo would make sure to warn Chris first. _"How will he react?"_

_What the...? Dad? What`s the matter with you?_

"Chris?" Leo tried again sensing that something was upsetting Chris. _"Oh no..."_

"It won`t help anyway...," Chris muttered and then sighed. He kept looking at Wyatt effectively blocking out Leo´s and Piper´s worried gazes. _"Your powers are blocked..."_

"What did you say?" Leo inquired not wanting to frighten Chris and also wanting to respect his wishes. _"Chris, talk to me please!"_

"I meant, um, yes, you can heal me," Chris whispered and looked away. He let his head sink to the ground and closed his eyes in defeat. It was easier for him to figure it out on his own than for Chris to have to tell them. He lay there waiting for the inevitable.

_I don`t want to see their faces when it doesn`t work..._

Leo held his hands over Chris` leg and waited in anticipation for the familiar golden light to appear.

But nothing happened, nothing at all. No light appeared, no bone was healed. They could only hear Chris breathing. _"What`s wrong?"_

"Why is it not working?" Piper asked worriedly. _"This can`t be!"_

"Daddy?" Wyatt whispered. _"What`s the matter?"_

"I don`t know," Leo admitted terrified; "Something is blocking my powers."

Silence was the only thing that greeted Leo. Chris tried to suppress a shudder as he imagined what their faces must look like. This was exactly why he did not want to face them when they learned about the truth.

_I told you..._

TBC...

YEAH another update!

Tell me what you think if you read this. I love to hear what you think!

Maybe there is an update soon... Who knows but I was in a good mood and look a lot of pages are written...

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	12. Battle

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 12: Battle**

_**Warning: Chris is not out of the wood yet... Some troubles will come...**_

"You can`t heal him?" Piper repeated in horror, "But..._why_?" _"Oh Chris what should we do?" _Piper stood trembling in disbelief next to her husband and future son.

_Please mom... it`s not your fault... it`s possible just a side effect of the poison... but it`s good to see you guys around..._

"I am so sorry Chris," Leo apologized in a whisper as he withdrew his hands and looked at them as if he saw them for the first time. He was terrified. _"What now?"_

_You really seem to care this time... too bad that I am going to die..._

"_Oh my god," _Phoebe thought shocked. _"No healing?"_

"Chris...," Phoebe began to whisper but then thought better of it as she did not know what she could say. She was standing a bit to the side and looked sick.

_Aunt Phoebe, stop it... you can do nothing..._

"_Poor Chris... We need to get him somewhere warm," _Paige mused as she looked at his battered and bruised body. _"Here it is too cold and he still does not wear a t-shirt on..." _"We´re here for you," Paige promised him as she came closer.

_That`s nice of you, aunt Paige, but you cannot help me..._

"_Hey bro... why can`t we help you?" _Wyatt thought and whispered, "Chwis..."

_Oh Wyatt... I wish I would see you grow up to be a good person... but I feel like I am going to die soon... I am so sorry that I failed..._

"Let`s think about that later! Now we need to go home!" Piper was taking action now, "Come on guys, let´s get home!" _"My son needs a really nice warm bed right now! It is freezing cold out here! I hope Wyatt did not fetch a cold... I should have given him a jacket before we got here..."_

_Yeah mom, exactly how should this going to be?_

"Okay... I`ll orb us home" Leo came to a decision, "If you feel the need to vomit again just say it okay?" _"My poor son..."_

Leo waited for a sign from Chris. When he got none he added gently, "Do not worry son, we will make it."

_That won`t work either..._

Piper went over to Wyatt and took him on her hip. Phoebe and Paige joined up and each took a hand of Piper´s. Leo hesitated.

"Chris... may I orb you home?" he tried carefully. He still did not want to repeat the scene from before. He needed Chris´ permission. The Charmed Ones looked confused.

_LEO! Cut the crap! It is really annoying when you behave like that! I am not a stranger to you! You know me long enough to know how to speak to me! Only just as you realized that I am your son, too, you started to act so weird... Please stop it... I cannot handle that version of my dad right now..._

As Chris failed to answer Leo´s quest Piper worriedly called out to her son, "Chris?"

"Of course you may," Chris whispered finally and sighed. _But it won`t work guys..._

Leo took carefully hold of Chris´ right arm avoiding the broken finger and wrist. He closed his eyes and waited for the blue light to engulf him.

But nothing happened.

"Why are we still here?" Piper inquired worriedly. _"What`s wrong now?"_

"That demon," Chris cleared his throat and wanted to continue but was interrupted by his dad.

"He blocked the orbing powers right?" Leo concluded depressed. _"That is bad... if we have to carry Chris..."_

_DAD! Would you at least let me explain something? Why are you all so quick to ignore me?_

"He what?!" Phoebe shouted exasperatedly. _"Great!"_

"How are we supposed to go home now?" Paige muttered under her breath clearly annoyed. _"That could become more difficult then we thought..."_

"This can`t be happening!" Piper was nearly crying again. _"Chris needs medical help!"_

Wyatt was worried. That is why his brother did not orb away... He could not leave this place...

"What about a spell?" Paige suggested suddenly determined to find a quick solution. She sensed Piper´s agitated state. _"Come on THIS has to work!"_

"Great idea Paige," Leo praised her and looked at Phoebe expectantly. _"Please work!"_

"I`ll think of one!" Phoebe offered immediately and began to concentrate. _"Come on, Phoebe, think!"_

"Just see that it does not backfire!" Piper warned her and waited in anticipation. _"I hope this`ll work..."_

"_A spell?" _Wyatt thought and his eyes narrowed.

_Okay that`s enough! _

"Hey guys!" Chris called out weakly to them. He had to stop them before things went out of control again.

_Damn it would you listen?_

"What is it Chris?" Leo asked his son concerned. _"Vomiting? Last thoughts?"_

"That won´t work either," Chris stated as if he just revealed that the earth was a sphere instead of a plane.

_I am cursed..._

"Why?" Piper wanted to know curiously yet at the same time she feared the answer. _"I should have known! That was too easy to be true!"_

"Seems to be the poison," Chris offered and refrained from shrugging, "some kind of curse."

_I don`t know... but I already tried... _He could not care less about orbing than the pain right now.

"Are you sure?" Leo doubted immediately. _"I think I know the real reason."_

"Spill it!" Piper demanded and came closer. She stared holes into Leo´s head while he hesitated to answer. _"Please don`t let it be too bad!"_

"Well, I thought this over and I came to the conclusion that," Leo stalled but as he looked at Piper he quickly added, "this looks like a place where demons train. _"Should I tell more?"_

"A training camp for demons?" Paige asked unbelievingly. _"That sounds ridiculous"_

"What is that for?" Phoebe wanted to know. _"I think I don`t want to hear it..."_

"Let me explain," Leo began to explain but was immediately cut off. _"How do I start?"_

"Demons train here," Chris cut in. "They catch witches and bring them here. No escape. No hope. Just fun for the demons to kill them... but not simply killing it`s more like suffering or torturing. Yeah, that´s about it; it´s a demon training camp." _I hope you guys can go out safely..._

"Where do you know that from?" Piper wanted to know suspiciously. _"Chris what are you hiding now from us?"_

But Chris ignored her. _Not now mom... never...you do not need to know..._

"The victim cannot escape – every way of good magic is block when the magic is used for escape. But you can orb in – no problem. Therefore a lot of whitelighters die here, too. They come to help their charge and die eventually a horrible death."

"Chris is right" Leo agreed while he shuddered at Chris´ remarks. "They let them have their powers so that the victim can fight back, but the victim will never win or be able to flee. It`s like a death end street."

The girls were shocked.

Wyatt was worried not only because of what was just said but rather about the threat that was coming.

"Mommy!" Wyatt warned them and raised his shield. The sisters and Leo looked at Wyatt shocked. _"Could there be any more demons?"_

"Do you see any demons?" Phoebe asked Paige as she looked around ready to let go of Piper and backed a few steps away to be able to fight better. _"We`re going to protect you!"_

"No. You?" Paige replied as she also let her gaze wander around searching for the threat Wyatt had detected. _"Come on you can`t kill us!"_

"Negative," Phoebe said.

"Shit, Jo must have had more demons," Chris cursed and tried once again to get up.

Leo reacted just in time and held Chris down. He grabbed him with strong hands and pushed his shoulders back to the ground. He was surprised to see how much strength Chris still had. Yet at the same time he was worried that he would harm Chris further.

"No Chris, no more fighting for you!" Leo told him, "You are seriously wounded!"_ "What`s your problem son? Why don`t you want to accept our help?"_

"Leo! I can`t let you guys die here!" Chris defended his actions. He needed them to be safe. _Would you stop fussing over me? You need to get out of here!_

"Chris! You do what Leo told you! You understand that young man?" Piper demanded as she scowled at him. _"I don`t leave your side!"_

"Piper! You`re not my m(_om)..._.! Damn it!" Chris cursed. He almost forgot that in a sick and twisted kind of way she was his mother, "Fine then let`s get you guys out of here." _You are going to get yourselves killed!_

"Not without you!" Piper immediately shot back as if she sensed his death wish. _"Don`t even think about sacrificing yourself!"_

Chris gave up. No arguing would change their minds. He would have to deal with their stubbornness later, for now he had to get them to safety first. After all, they had no idea what they were dealing with. Chris might not have remembered everything of the last few days but he knew enough.

"Fine," Chris relented and ceased to fight Leo who hesitantly withdrawing his hands and releasing Chris. _Then I could use your powers..._

"Huh?" Piper answered but then smiled. _"I got your back, Chris..."_

"Come out Spike!" Chris demanded in a harsh tone that sounded threatening although he was lying flat on his back and looked the worse for wear. _You`re so dead..._

"Spike?" Phoebe repeated stunned. _"Who`s that? And how does Chris know him?"_

"I said _come out!_" Chris shouted and immediately had to cough up some blood. _"Jesus! I need a bed..."_

"I did not know that you could still sense me!" Spike replied mockingly but kept invisible.

Chris closed his eyes. _Then I sense for you._

"Chris?!" Leo asked worriedly as he noticed that Chris had closed his eyes. _"Lost he consciousness?"_

"Piper, to the right!" Chris told her and opened his eyes. _Don`t miss please!_

Piper understood and blew up something that was on the right side. "Strike," she commented as she saw how it had worked.

"But how? I mean how could you see him?" Paige asked stunned. _"I had no idea that the demon was that near! But Wyatt also knew...What powerful boys those two are."_

"Okay listen!" Chris said and straightened up although Leo had a strong grip on him. "Piper you must blow up the left side now. Phoebe and Paige you watch her back! Wyatt, buddy, you must protect the three of them!" _First get them out safely... then care about the demons... next step ... ... ... me. _

Chris had enough experience to lead a small army. Though he was not proud of everything that he had achieved he at least knew that his battle tactics had always worked so far. But never before had he had the power of three at his disposal. He knew that they could make it. He just knew it.

"What do _you_ do?" Phoebe asked sensing with her empath power that Chris was determined to do something horrible. _"Do you want to kill yourself?"_

"Chwis," Wyatt replied as if he wanted to confirm Chris´ order. _"I can do that!"_

Piper blew up the left side but hit nothing but thin air. "Do you really think that that was the right thing to do?" she asked as she looked back at her son. _"What is with that by the way?"_

Paige looked around anxiously trying to find or sense the demon herself. _"Was there another demon?"_

"Sorry Leo," Chris muttered softly in advance. Leo looked at him and narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out what Chris had to be sorry for. As he saw Chris lifting his hands he had a suspicion but before he could say or do anything Chris had directed a small wave of telekinesis against him. The small amount of power did not hurt him but he was put a small distance backwards which left Chris now unprotected and utterly alone.

Though Leo suspected this to be Chris´ plan he did not like it one bit and immediately tried to rush over to him again whilst shouting "Chris".

Chris, however, was on the move again. He engulfed in blue light and orbed away seconds before Leo could reach him.

"CHRIS!" Leo shouted in rage. _"Come back here!"_

"WHERE DID YOU GO?!" Piper yelled very worried now and ready to kill her son for his disobedience. _"Chris!"_

"He could not have escaped, could he?" Paige asked and looked around in search. _"Is this boy crazy?"_

"Don`t be ridiculous!" Phoebe answered and waited for the blue orbs to return. _"Chris what did you plan?"_

"Cwis!" Wyatt yelled once and Chris orbed right to Wyatt`s side. _"I protect you baby brother!" _As soon as Wyatt had sensed his brother´s whereabouts he had yelled his name and orbed him back to his side.

"Wy, stop doing that!" Chris scolded his brother, "I had him!" _Wy if you keep doing this we won`t get out of here! I need to get you guys out but I need to do it my own way!_

"You are covered in blood! What happened?" Piper shrieked. _"Has he fought?"_

"I killed Spike!" Chris replied simply and looked around alerted. _Where is that damn portal?_

"Did Wyatt just orb you here?" Leo inquired curiously. _"Why did I not think of that? Is Wyatt really this powerful?"_

"Yeah," Chris admitted without second thought and looked at one corner. _Dad not now... I am searching..._

"Can`t you use your powers anymore?" Leo asked further on. _"Why did he not orb back himself?"_

"What?" Piper interrupted already sensing the lurking danger, "That is not good!" _"We are going to lose him."_

"Stop it!" Chris cut in and added angrily, "We need to get out of here first! Could we focus on that?"

As he thought that he spotted the portal he yelled at Paige, "Paige try to orb that stone right there!" _That should show me if the portal is over there or not..._

"What? This one?" Paige asked back and looked questioningly at Chris. She then noticed that he indeed was covered in blood. Somehow she was sure that it was not only Spike´s blood. _"I have to talk to him once we get out of here... Either I or his parents!"_

"Would you try Paige?" Chris reminded her again impatiently. _I`m running out of options here._

"Chris!" Leo interrupted, "Did you use up your powers?" It was more a statement then a question. _"You are not going anywhere soon son! I make sure of that! First you recover!"_

"Not now Leo!" Chris snapped at him and watched as Paige orbed the stone with a "Stone – wall!" yell to the space where Chris had pointed at before. _Come on be there please!_

Something flickered as the stone connected with it. _YEAH! Got it!_

"Chris!" Leo tried again to get Chris to talk to him. _"Come on talk to me son!"_

"Will you answer to your father?!" Piper demanded angrily and looked over at her two men. _"What is wrong with my boy?"_

"Yes!" Chris announced suddenly in triumph. _That`s it! The way out of here!_

"_Huh? What is that?"_ Piper thought confused. _"What did he agree to?"_

"Chris!" Leo addressed his son again. _"Now he really is crazy!"_

"There – over there!" Chris said agitated and pointed to where the light had flickered. "Don`t you see it?!" _Come on guys!_

All of them looked lost.

"There is the portal!" Chris explained to them while he kept looking around searching for more demons, "When you go through that portal you are in another part of the underworld and can orb out!" _Don`t stay around here! GO!_

"_What_?" Piper shrieked in disbelief. _"__**We**__? Is he nuts he is going with us!"_

"We are not going anywhere without you!" Leo declared with emphasis. _"What is wrong with you? A death wish or what?"_

"You have to!" Chris reminded them, "I would only slow you down! Get Wyatt out of here!" _Don`t you see? Here or there I am dead anywhere!_

"Cut the crap young man!" Piper replied in her best ordering tone, "You come with us even if we have to drag you out of here!" _"And we will heal you somehow!"_

"Yeah," Phoebe agreed just as determined. _"You can`t escape us..."_

"You have to stick with us!" Paige threatened him. _"I mean you want to save Wyatt right?"_

Chris looked at her shocked. _Did she really mean that?_

"Cwis!" Wyatt told his brother. _"Or I`ll orb you after me!"_

"Hurry up!" Chris repeated as if all of that would not affect him at all, "Piper, blow up that portal – Paige use whatever you can find and orb it over there. You have to smash it into the portal and if possible try to hit the same spot every time." _We do not have time for worrying about me!_

"Chris, stop that already!" Leo warned him. _"You have done enough! Let us take over!"_

But Chris did not look at him. Chris was worried. Wyatt had lowered his shield. And he could not get the nagging feeling away that there was another demon... _So why?_

Piper blew up the portal just as he had wanted her to but it did not crack that easily. Paige had orbed everything that was lying around against the portal sending it smashing into it.

Phoebe was standing next to Wyatt and Chris but now she hurried over to Paige and whispered to her: "Should I try to kick it open?" _"We need to hurry!"_

"I don`t know... Maybe it helps," Paige answered and shrugged. _"That is not fast enough!"_

At that moment a darklighter shimmered in right beside Wyatt. The little child was tired and had not noticed the intruder. He was busy with watching his mommy and did not even raise his shield.

"_Wyatt_!" Chris shouted in horror as he sensed the danger. With no one being near enough to Wyatt Chris did the only thing he could think about that would save his brother. He orbed his brother to his side.

"Wyatt, raise your shield now!" Chris yelled at him as soon as his brother was next to him. The darklighter had followed the blue orbs with his eyes, whirled around and shot an arrow at the two whitelighter brothers. The deadly threat of the arrow was all too clear to Chris.

Wyatt was shocked as he thought _"What is it?". _He looked at Chris in confusion as he rematerialized next to him. Nevertheless, he raised his shield a few seconds later.

As soon as Wyatt had followed Chris´ order his magic surged through him and a blue bubble shot out of Wyatt. The bubble was pure energy and enveloped both brothers. It was just in time ready as the poisoned arrow of the darklighter connected with a hissing sound. The shield was strong enough and the arrow fell to the floor without killing any of its victims.

"Damn it!" the darklighter hissed and quickly reloaded his crossbow.

Chris felt the after effects of his third orb in a row almost immediately. He felt how his power left him and his injuries tore at his already weakened body. There was a darkness at the edge of his vision and he tried his best to keep it at bay. Yet he was no fool. He knew that sooner or later he could not go on.

Piper whirled around and blew the darklighter up as soon as she had laid eyes on him. "Do not lay hands on my boys!" she managed to tell him shortly before he was blown up. _"You are so dead!"_

"Piper!" Leo shouted worriedly in warning. _"Please watch out! And hurry up!"_

"What is it?" she replied and whirled around to look at her husband. She searched for a demon but only saw his frantic look. _"Another demon?"_

"It`s Chris," Leo told her and nodded with his head into the direction in which his two boys where. _"What`s about him?"_

That was enough for Piper to stop her task of blowing up the portal. She ran over to her sons who were still protected by Wyatt´s blue shield.

"_CHRIS!"_

Phoebe and Paige hurried to open the portal and used every ninja technique they could think of since there were no more rocks for Paige to throw. _"Let us out!"_

Chris lay, panting, on his side and whispered to Wyatt: "You okay?"

_Great... just in time... if Wyatt dies... it`s all my fault... I should not have come down here in the first place..._

Wyatt had tears in his eyes and only nodded. _"Chris you saved me... But I am the older one... I should protect you! It`s my fault that you are ill!"_

"Chris?" Piper asked carefully as she was standing next to the blue bubble. _"Please tell me that you`re fine..."_

Wyatt felt safe enough around his mommy and lowered the blue shield immediately. Piper came closer.

"Yeah," Chris whispered in reply. Even talking caused too much pain. He had overexerted himself by orbing, shouting, fighting and planning. He just hoped that it had been worth it.

_I am so sorry mom! Please forgive me that I failed you again..._

Chris closed his eyes.

_I am so tired... Everything hurts..._

"Chris!" Piper shrieked, "Hey Chris! Stay with us!" _"Don`t die on me!"_

She was kneeling next to him and tentatively touched his upper arm.

"I," Chris wanted to say but the darkness at the edge of his vision did not wait another moment longer. It quickly engulfed his whole vision and claimed his consciousness. The only thought that accompanied him while he lost his consciousness was _´m sorry._

"Chris!" Piper yelled at him and began to shake him awake. _"NO! NO! NO!"_

She desperately grabbed his upper arm, squeezed it, and punched it. She tried to shake his whole form. She yelled his name over and over and was faintly aware of her tears that were running down her cheeks like a waterfall.

"Piper, watch out!" Leo warned her suddenly from not so far behind.

Piper reacted on instinct. As soon as she heard Leo call out to her she threw herself to the side and avoided at the last moment an energy ball that was thrown at her.

Phoebe and Paige kept fiercely attacking the portal.

Wyatt used his orbing power to attack the demon with a stone he found lying around.

"Piper, we need to get out of here!" Leo shouted to his ex-wife as he protected his son. Leo had orbed himself in front of little Wyatt as had realized that his little boy had not raised his shield. He shot electricity towards three demons and kept them at a safe distance to them. _"I am here for you Chris!"_

Piper whirled around and vanquished the demon that had tried to kill her.

"I know Leo! Phoebe, Paige, hurry up!" Piper shouted. _"I try my best to hurry up!"_

"We try Piper!" Paige shouted back and orbed an energy ball away. _"It would be a lot easier without all those demons attacking!"_

"Damn it! Where do these demons come from all of a sudden?" Phoebe yelled. _"Can`t they keep staying in their lairs?"_

"I don`t know but I think that they won`t stop coming!" Piper replied and picked up Wyatt who was getting tired very fast. "Hey buddy, mommy keeps an eye on you!" _"Two sons down – this is so not good!"_

Piper was no deadlier than before although she now held Wyatt on her hip. She blew up every demon she laid eyes on with a single hand. _"But I will protect the both of you!"_

In the meanwhile Leo was busy with electrifying demons so that he did not notice one big demon shimmer in behind an unconscious Chris lying unprotected on the floor.

"Matt, I am here to kill you!" the announced with lethal intent and tried to stab Chris with a big electric sword.

"CHRIS!" Piper shrieked as she whirled around at the sound of the electric sword._"Oh no!" _

Her inner eye pictured the sword piercing Chris to death but before reality could show her the same pictures Wyatt orbed to his brother`s side. He raised his shield and protected the both of them. Unfortunately Wyatt was weakening quickly and therefore his shield got a big scratch and threatened to fade.

"Then you die too little boy!" the demon hissed and took aim anew.

Chris was breathing heavily and did not stir. His lower leg was in a weird position and everywhere was blood of him. Wyatt looked the demon in the eyes.

"Chwis!" Wyatt threatened the demon. _"I will stop the demon!"_

"That is too funny! What can you do?!" the demon hissed as he looked at the little child trying to defend the grown up brother of his.

"THEY ARE MY SONS!" Piper screamed and blew the demon up. Her power, however, did not kill the demon. "Huh?" _"Can`t even one thing go as normal? Does every demon have to be this powerful?"_

"Piper Halliwell?" the demon asked incredulously as he looked her up and down. As he confirmed her identity he promised her, "I want to see you suffer!"

"_Try_!" Piper hissed and tried to blow the demon up again. _"Me suffer? I would rather see you die."_

But the demon shimmered away just in time as Piper threw her hands up again. Her power was released and now crashed into Wyatt´s shield instead of the demon. _"NO!"_

"What the ***?" Piper cursed as she saw what she had done and looked worriedly around. _"I should have known that it would shimmer away and that I will hit Wyatt instead... What kind of mother am I?"_

"_Oh mommy... Now I cannot protect Chris anymore... What should I do?"_ little Wyatt thought shocked. Wyatt´s shield flickered one last time before it broke away leaving a panting and tired little boy behind.

"Piper!" Leo`s voice could be heard. "Forget about the shield! Hurry up! Go help your sisters! WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!" _"Come on honey! Chris needs medical help!"_

Leo rushed over to his sons.

"But Leo," Piper tried to protest but stopped short as she noticed that the same demon shimmered in next to Leo and shot an arrow at Chris. _"Don`t you dare...!"_

"L E O ! ! !" Piper shouted frantically and her husband reacted immediately. _"Help Chris!"_

Leo orbed in front of Chris and was hit by the arrow instead of him. _"I protect my sons with my life if necessary!"_

"Damn it, elder!" the demon hissed, reloaded his crossbow again and thought: _"Just as I expected. Now suffer Piper!"_

With that the demon shimmered out again and watched everything that was going to happen from a safe distance.

"LEO? Are you alright?" Piper shrieked as she rushed to his side. _"Please be alright! PLEASE!"_

"Yeah Piper it`s just a scratch nothing to worry about!" Leo answered and pulled the arrow out of his body. _"Weird... I have a bad feeling about this..."_

"We got through!" Phoebe announced suddenly. _"Yeah now we gotta go!"_

"Yeah but we better hurry up!" Paige shouted as she orbed more energy balls away from Phoebe. _"For all our sake!"_

"Okay we`re coming!" Piper yelled back and blew up another little demon. _"Hurry home that`s the plan!"_

Wyatt was sitting very tiredly next to Chris. _"Oh little bro... I am as tired as you are..."_

Leo hurried over to his sons and stood before them in no minute. _"Okay now we need to get out of here..." _There was the next difficult task: "Piper how do we take Chris with us?"

"I don`t know Leo," Piper whispered and added, "I am afraid that we have to carry him." _"Can we risk that?"_

"I agree," Leo whispered back and knelt down next to Chris. The only indication that Chris was still alive was the constant but slow rising and lowering of his chest. _"I am sorry son if I hurt you..."_

"Hey buddy, I am going to carry you out of here, okay?" Leo said to his unconscious son who in return did nothing. _"Sorry..."_

"Hurry guys!" Paige reminded them. _"Or we die here... Where do these ugly demons come from?"_

"Okay Piper, can you help me here?" Leo asked his wife and pointed from Chris to his back. "I want to carry him piggyback." _"I think that`s the safest way"_

"Do you think we harm him even more by doing so?" Piper asked afraid. _"What if one of his ribs is cracked?"_

"I am afraid it could hurt him but this is his only chance to get out of here alive." _"Come Piper just help me!"_

"Okay we`ll do it," Piper gave in and went to help Leo. _"Better a broken rib than a dead son..."_

"Mommy!" Wyatt screamed and raised his shield, it was not as powerful as before but it still reflected the energy ball that tried to hurt his mommy. _"Watch out!"_

"Thanks sweetie!" Piper praised her little son. _"Oh Wyatt..."_

"Come on Leo! Let`s move him!" Piper said with renewed hope and resolve.

Tbc...

Sorry guys but I stop here so that today is an update! But right in the morning of the next day which means tomorrow (don`t ask) I will write more. Promise!

Leave a review if you like to!

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	13. Some explanation

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 13: Some explanation**

"Easy Leo," Piper warned as Leo knelt down next to Chris who was still lying unconscious on the ground.

"What about his leg? Should we not put it back in place? Is it safe to even move him at all?" _"That looks like it must hurt like hell...!" _Piper looked at her second son who looked so fragile at the moment that her heart clenched at the sight. She really wanted to take him home but she feared that they were only causing more harm.

"Yeah, I try," Leo answered quietly as he touched Chris´ torso and then added as he was satisfied with his discovery, "When we`re at home. First we need to get him safe!" _"Now is not the time for this!"_

"Mommy. Daddy," Wyatt reminded them in his childlike voice that nevertheless sounded urgent. _"I wish I were at home!"_

Leo crouched down next to Chris and held his arms behind him. He looked at Piper and nodded at her encouragingly. Piper did not hesitate any longer. Even if they were causing him discomfort or even more pain they would make sure that he would get help.

She crouched down and put her arms under her son´s torso. Slowly she lifted his upper body from the ground and brought his lifeless form into a sitting posture. Then she got behind his back and pushed him forward a bit. Leo met his son backwards and used his hands to grab a hold of Chris´ belt. He nodded at Piper.

Piper let go of Chris´ torso and put her son´s arms around Leo´s shoulders. Leo slowly got to his feet while Piper helped him push Chris onto his back. Once Leo stood tall he adjusted his grip on Chris´ hips and carefully pushed him up a little higher. Chris moaned quietly in protest but otherwise kept unconscious.

Chris was dead weight and threatened to slip down again but Piper was standing behind Leo and helped to carry Chris.

Wyatt watched worriedly. Everything seemed to go on in slow motion.

Phoebe and Paige vanquished one demon after the other and Wyatt`s little shield protected the little family as good as possible. The demons threw energy balls and athames, knives and fire flames at them.

Suddenly Wyatt´s blue bubble flickered heavily.

More athames came flying towards their heads but Paige managed to orb them away by screaming "Athames" and orbing them off to the other directions. She did not even have the time to orb them into the demons´ chests. Phoebe used their last potions to get rid of the energy balls that were thrown at them. The vials and balls connected and erupted in small flames.

As another two energy balls hit its frame head on the shield flickered one last time and dropped leaving the family without the protective blue bubble.

"_Great! Why now?" _Piper picked up her son up who yawned heavily and rubbed at his eyes. She knew that her little angel was more than tired. She hurried after Leo who had taken off without her. She saw how Chris was hanging loosely on Leo´s back. He was still out cold. As she reached her husband she steadied Chris once more.

The group of them hurried towards the portal. Paige and Phoebe took up the lead trying with all their might and remaining strength or potions to keep the demons and their attacks at bay. Leo and Piper rushed after them eager to reach the portal and thereby safety.

But there were at least three demons that tried to stop them. They were standing in their path and blocked their way out. One was a big and heavy guy with a bald head. The other was tall and thin and the third wore expansive clothes that let him seem to be out of place. All were human demons.

"Leo, go, get Chris out of here!" Piper yelled at her husband, "We stop them! Phoebe, Paige and me we get rid of those demons!" _"This ends here!"_

She kept her hand a second longer on Chris´ back willing him to be okay and then withdraw her hand and hurried to get in front of Leo to help her sisters get rid of the three demons. She planned to either kill them right now or at least distract them long enough for Leo to get her boy out.

"But Piper," Leo protested as he watched her back, "What about you and Wyatt?" _"And how can I leave you behind?"_

At that moment Leo felt small movement at his back and realized that Chris was coming around.

Chris knew something was wrong as soon as the heavy fog on his mind lifted and he began to feel again. There was noise. There was movement. There was pain.

He could feel himself moving but did not feel his legs move. He knew that he was carried and he also knew that it hurt. As he blinked his eyes to clear his vision he realized that he was on the back on someone who hurriedly ran after a beautiful back.

_Why is it this loud? _He briefly wondered.

"Worst moment to join us again, Chris!" Paige yelled back at them as she noticed Chris´ stirring. _"If he stayed unconscious he would be in less pain."_

As soon as he had heard Paige´s voice it all came back to him. _You gotta be kiddin me... You are still in this mess?_

He wanted to yell back, wanted to join in the fight but all he could manage in return was a small, "Hmm?"

"Paige! Stop that!" Phoebe scolded her sister out of breath, "Help me!" _"I am getting tired too!"_

"You are going to die first!" The heavy demon promised them and added a snarling, "And then Matt!"

"Try!" Piper yelled as she caught up with her sisters. She awkwardly balanced Wyatt on her hip while she lifted her other hand and blew up the tall demon. _"How many are there?"_

"Mommy!" Wyatt screamed in alarm._ "Bad demon!" _

Piper whirled around to Wyatt´s side just soon enough to see the handsome demon in a suit charging at her. Out of pure instinct she raised her hand again and blew him up too.

"Watch out, Phoebe!" Leo called in warning as he pushed her out of the way. He used his elder lightning to vanquish the demon next to her before he quickly brought his hand back to keep Chris on his back. _"Stay alive all of you!"_

A flaming ball aimed straight for her head let Paige dissolve in blue orbs and reappear seconds after it missed her head. She swore under her breath, _"Damn it!"_

Chris looked around groggily. He was chummed by Leo´s fast pace and he could feel every injury on his body. The darkness was back at the edge of his vision. But he could feel the family's near end of power. He held onto consciousness, fought back nausea and dizziness and took a decision, _I need to help them!_

More demons shimmered in. They were like ants. For every you took out more would come.

Chris focused his attention to the three demons that were chasing them. He knew that Leo could not fight demons that were behind him and he also knew that the sisters were too far ahead to turn around. He knew what he had to do and quickly sent a wish up there to give him enough power to do the job.

He closed his eyes in concentration and searched for his inner power. As soon as he found the frightening little amount that was left he began to release it. Power surged through him and dissolved his body into blue orbs.

He orbed of Leo`s back and reappeared behind one of the three demons. They were chasing after Leo and had only seen him disappear. They had no idea that he was behind them. He half lay half sat on the ground and closed his eyes anew in concentration.

Soon he found his other power and tapped into it. He shot his hand out and slowly made fist. The three demons almost instantly stopped short. Their hands reached up to their throats as they desperately struggled for breath. Chris would not yield. He had all three of them in a death grip.

_Those demons... and then they are safe – at least I hope so..._

"Chris, are you out of your mind?" Piper screamed. She had been running ahead of Leo and only cast a short look over her shoulder to check on her men when she noticed him missing. Leo had turned around and was running back to where they came from and she quickly took after him.

Another demon shimmered in before her and stopped her. She scowled at him, _"Get out of my way!"_

"Why do you keep doing these things?" Leo yelled furiously at Chris as he whirled around and electrified the demon that had tried to hurt his ex-wife. _"We are never going to make it over there in time!"_

"Get out of here!" Chris yelled back and looked at them briefly. His concentration only broke for the fraction of a second but it was enough. His grip on his power faded and he lost control of it. He knew what was happening and cursed, "Shit!" _Things must hurry up!_

The demons took not long to recover. They took in breaths and turned around to face Chris who was behind them and breathing heavily. He looked about ready to keel over and appeared to be no threat anymore.

"So Matt, this is not going to help you!" the first demon mocked him. He conjured two energy balls and released them with a huge smirk. _Oh no!_

"Shit," Chris cursed again as he began to realize his predicament. He sighed in acceptance and closed his eyes. _I cannot die here..._

"NO!" Piper screamed as she watched in horror how the demons got closer to Chris. She could not see their ugly faces that were smirking for sure but she did not have to. She knew all too well what they had in mind. _"Another hit and he is dead!" _

Wyatt tried to dissolve into orbs and help his brother but was too tired to help. _"I am so sorry!"_

"CHRIS!" Leo screamed and watched powerless. Even if he orbed over he would not make it in time. He dared not to think about how Chris would feel now thinking his father had abandoned him once again. And he dared not to picture a dead Chris. _"That is the end..."_

The two energy balls flew at a frightening speed yet for the Charmed Ones, Wyatt and Leo it seemed like they took forever to reach their whitelighter.

"_What the ...?" _Paige thought confused as she glanced over her shoulder and took in the scene. She saw the energy ball only inches way from Chris and her breath got caught in her throat.

"Wh...?" Phoebe asked as she took a glance back, too. She also had to watch without the possibility to intervene.

Chris had closed his eyes. He was awaiting the pain of the two balls when they would connect with his skin, burn it away and leave a terrible pain behind. He was quite familiar with flesh wounds caused by energy balls. If they did not hit anything vital he was sure that he could survive somehow. Maybe he could even fight back.

But who was he kidding? He knew he would most certainly not be able to stay conscious if they hit him. He also knew that most likely they had deadly aim.

He almost could feel their radiating heat. They were only inches away from his face and torso. He knew they were meant to hit him in the head and heart, most likely to make sure he was killed or at least almost dead. He huffed at the thought. Two energy balls could not be his ends. He had survived worse.

He heard Wyatt sob from far away. He could not let him see his death. Such trauma could invoke terrible things. Things Chris had come back to the past to change. Piper´s scream and Leo´s frantic call of his name reached his ears.

He could not let his family down. He would not die by some stupid third class demon attack. He was a Halliwell after all. He could survive this. He would get them out of here.

He would apologize for being an ass. He would explain them things they needed to know to understand his motives. He needed them to understand. He could not die before he did not make things up to them. He had so much to tell them, so much to warn them off.

Chris made up his mind.

He knew he could not deflect the balls with his telekinesis. There was no time.

He also knew that he could not orb. If anyone had thought that orbing could have saved him they surely would have done so by now.

Something inside of him bubbled and caught his attention. It was a foreign feeling. He was sure he had felt it before but it had been a long time ago. He ignored the calling and searched for his Wiccan powers that could help him.

There was simply no time. He did not have enough power to create fire or blow things up or whatever else.

His body would not cooperate if he tried to dodge and he most likely would not be able to lift a finger.

The heat of the energy balls were near. He could feel them beginning to burn his skin.

He did not want to die.

His mind screamed at him. Warmth began to envelop him and power tried to surge through him. He could feel it.

Somewhere deep within him he knew he would find it. He answered the calling. He called forth the power that lay hidden deep within him. It was a power scarcely used for it would only work when all other powers were used up or would turn out to be useless against the foe.

Chris had almost forgotten about it. He had only used it once or twice before because it was rare and immensely strength-sapping. It was meant only for protection. But lately he wondered if that was true whenever he laid eyes upon Wyatt´s.

He hardly had the time to think anymore as the power surged through him. The world around him turned green. The heat of the balls withered and felt almost cold to him. He idly noticed how there was a crashing sound and he felt as if he was churned.

The power it had taken to raise the green shield was enough to let Chris collapse on the floor. He lay there panting as he tried to get his breathing under control. He knew he had survived this attack but what good would it do?

Piper could not believe her eyes but she did not waste a second. She raised her hand while she held on to Wyatt with her other and blew up every demon at least four times before they were vanquished.

_Thank god that at least this power works... even if not for long..._

Chris was writhing in pain on the floor. Holding up a shield was draining him of his powers and his way to fight off the pain. Whenever he moved though he would cause new pain.

Leo saw his chance. He whirled around and electrified four more demons that had shimmered in. He rushed over to Chris once he was finished with them.

Even Phoebe and Paige began to battle with more force now. They had seen what a close call it had been and wanted nothing more than to protect their nephews and get them home safely. Together they kicked and punched at every demon that got into their way. They were frantically trying to clear a path to the portal.

Piper was satisfied that the demons were gone and reached Chris´ just as his green bubble flickered twice and simply vanished into thin air. Worriedly she crouched next to him. She wanted to reach out to him, to touch him, to assure him everything would be fine. But most of all she just wanted to make sure that he was indeed still alive.

Chris was lying on the ground as he felt the last spark of his power go out. Though he was grateful that the strength-sapping green force field was down he felt now vulnerable and naked. He had no defense left and he knew it. Piper was next to him and he dared not to give up. If he did not get her to safety then he would not even be born! He had to get her out of here!

"Oh Chris," Piper spoke as she barely held back tears of relief, _"I am so sorry for everything..."_

"Piper?" her heart jumped at his voice. It sounded fragile and labored.

"Would you just go to safety?" Chris asked her as he slowly and painfully raised his head to look at her. He even managed to scowl at her. Then his breath hitched and he grabbed at his chest in pain. _Please mom you need to be safe!_

"Yeah I do," Piper assured him softly and laid a hand on his shoulder. "And daddy is going to carry you." _"Chris we are going to take you with us..."_

Chris was not sure if she spoke to Wyatt or if she meant that Leo was carrying him again. If was not important to safe him damn it!

"Leo?" Chris asked and shuddered in dread. He knew he should not have done that as a new wave of pain hit his body hard. _Dad?_

"Hey buddy," Leo greeted him out of breath.

Despite all this pain Chris should have stayed alert enough to sense Leo´s approaching. Yet, he did not and that frightened Chris.

"No room for arguing. I carry you and then all of us go home," Leo informed him gently but with emphasis that left no room for arguing. Chris was not even sure if at this point he could have offered any argument. _"Why do you hate me this much?"_

Piper smiled warmly at her husband and nodded.

"Yes Chris, you are not going to stay behind. We make sure of that," she assured her son and looked warmly at her husband. _"Thanks Leo"_

"Portal is free!" Paige announced suddenly and waved over at them, "Hurry up!" _"Time to go home!"_

"Here we go Chris," Leo warned his son in advance and tried to pick his son up. _"Can I even touch him without breaking some bones? He is so thin..."_

"Leo, wait," Chris whispered between labored breaths. _Please you don`t need to carry me..._

"No Chris, it`s okay." Piper soothed her son. She stroke through his hair that was clinging to his already feverish forehead and tried to distract him. She whispered words without meaning to Chris to keep his attention on her and not his father.

Chris tried hard to tell Leo to just leave him behind. But he felt drawn to Piper´s soothing words and found himself focusing solely on her.

Leo crouched down next to his son. He was at his right side and quickly put his left arm under Chris´ torso. Leo put his right arm under Chris´ knee bend and in one swift movement picked him up this way. He stood tall and watched his wife in awe. She was clearly beautiful and had done a very good job at keeping Chris occupied.

She had risen as well and still kept her hand brushing through Chris´ damp hair.

But all of her distraction could not prevent Chris from taking in a sharp breath as Leo´ jarred at his injuries, especially his broken lower leg. Chris tried to breathe through the pain as he heard Piper whisper, "Easy, breathe Chris, breathe".

The sharp pain that had washed over him had left him breathless and Chris was grateful for it. He knew he could not have bitten back the scream had it been otherwise.

"Thanks," Chris muttered more thankful than he thought as soon as he had enough breath again to say anything. He had not wanted to die here.

"Okay," Leo said and yelled at Phoebe, "We`re coming!"

"_I carry you home son!" he silently promised Chris._

"Hey sweetie, mommy takes you home, okay?" Piper said to Wyatt who nodded in return. She adjusted her grip on her son and hurried after Leo to Paige and Phoebe.

"Okay guys, we go through that thing!" Phoebe declared as they all made their way over to it. But she was unsure what was behind that thing. The portal was literally a wall that blinked every now and then. Phoebe guessed that one could go through it because it was so damaged that you could see it. Its natural protection was gone and could not prevent anyone anymore from going through it.

"Nothing worse is behind that portal, Phoebe. Just another part of the underworld," Leo tried to assure her while he ran. He asked Chris for confirmation, "Right?" _"I was never in a camp like that..."_

"Yeah," Chris replied tiredly. _I don`t want to explain how it works now..._

"Okay hurry before he loses consciousness again or before more demons come along!" Piper ordered her family she was running behind Leo now to protect both him and their son. _"Hold on Chris!"_

Paige arrived at the portal and came to a halt. She waved her middle sister through while she provided covering fire by orbing energy balls away. First Phoebe jumped through the portal. Then Piper and Wyatt followed by Leo with Chris rushed past her.

With another two energy balls Paige was the last one to jump through the portal, escaping the training camp for demons.

On the other side was...

Phoebe had been the first one to come to her feet on the other side. She quickly made sure that for now she was alone on this side of the portal. Soon after her though Piper, Wyatt, Leo and Chris made their way through the portal.

She was happy to see Paige running through after them. But then she saw the danger coming quickly.

"Watch out!" Phoebe screamed suddenly in warning. _"Damn!"_

Piper whirled around searching for the threatand Leo cursed under his breath, "Not again!"

Both of them dodged two energy balls that were heading their way. Piper quickly gripped her son Wyatt tighter to herself and came to her feet again. Chris, however, gasped again in pain as Leo´s sidestep caused more pain.

"Sorry son," Leo apologized quickly as he looked down at him. He could see that Chris was barely holding on. Just as he lifted his head again to make sure that his wife and firstborn son would be okay he heard Paige call, "Energy ball!", and saw how an energy ball was orbed away only inches before it connected with his head.

"Where do those come from?" Paige muttered angrily. _"Can`t they stop?"_

"Guards of the camp – whether demons or just energy balls," Chris informed them casually, between quick breaths, "We should be safe to orb now." _I need a place to sleep... Everything hurts..._

"You did not think to inform us earlier, did you?" Paige muttered under her breath.

"Okay, let`s go before more demons show up!" Phoebe suggested. _"Orbing home! How I missed that power!"_

Everyone agreed. Leo was the first to act. He dissolved into blue orbs and took Chris along. Wyatt had recovered enough to orb himself and his mommy after his daddy. Paige orbed over to Phoebe, took her hand and orbed home.

Only seconds later more demons had filled the empty space.

All of them reappeared at the manor.

They were all in the sitting room. Leo adjusted his grip on Chris slightly and waited for the rest of his family to return home.

Blue orbs changed into his son and Piper. Wyatt was exhausted and quickly fell asleep in his mother´s arms. She hugged him tighter to her chest and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. "Thank you, Wyatt," she murmured and stroked through his hair.

Paige and Phoebe were the next to arrive. The held hands and took deep breaths as they finally realized that they were once again safe and at home. They made room for Leo who had quickly assured himself that all of them were home in one piece.

He carried Chris over to the couch. He crouched down and then laid Chris carefully on the couch. First he slid his arm from under Chris´ knee bends and then from under his head.

Chris groaned as his muscles sensed the comfortable couch beneath them. _At least it`s a couch and not the ground in a lair..._

"Easy Chris," Leo told his son fearing he was hurting, _"Sorry son." _

Chris did not even hear him anymore. He closed his eyes and relaxed as much as it was possible on the couch. At last he was safe. _Sleep..._

"Paige, could you bring Wyatt to bed?" Piper asked her sister already holding Wyatt out to her. _"I need to know that at least one son is safe" _

Paige walked over and took her nephew in her arms. She did not want to waste another minute and simply orbed the both of them upstairs.

Phoebe walked over to Leo and Piper who had joined him as soon as Paige had taken Wyatt. Leo was still crouching next to the couch. Piper was bending over and Phoebe stood behind them. All three looked down on their whitelighter.

"How are you feeling Chris?" Piper asked her soon to be son gently. _"Please talk to me!"_

Chris did not reply immediately. He considered the question. _Should I tell the truth?_

"You need to tell me everything, Chris" Leo added softly but with emphasis, "I need to check up with the elders if they have an antidote." _"Every hint could be the key to the right antidote!"_

Chris sighed in annoyance. _Okay... But you and caring that does not fit..._

"So Chris what is it?" Phoebe asked him as she sensed that he had a troubled mind.

"It`s just...," he began unsure of how to voice his thoughts out loud, "It`s nothing..."

"You can tell us," Piper tried to assure him. _"Chris please!"_

Chris had tears in his eyes. _You are so much like my real mom Piper..._

"What is it Chris?" Leo asked worriedly as he detected the little tear drops in the corner of Chris´ eyes. _"Are you in any other serious pain?"_

"It`s... it`s...," Chris stuttered then he turned his head away, "I`m sorry." _I don`t know what to say... I did not want to you to find out my identity... How can anything work out now? You were never supposed to find out this secret! You should have left me back there to rot..._

"You don`t need to be sorry sweetie," Piper whispered and stroked through his hair. _"It`s okay Chris..."_

Piper did not miss his flinch as she stroked through his hair nor did she miss how his body went rigid for a second. But her soothing voice was slowly helping him relax. She saw how the tears in his eyes were flowing freely now. She idly wondered what had gotten into him when he leaned into her hand and sobbed heart-wrenchingly.

_Mom – I miss you so bad..._ He knew he should feel furious at him for being this weak. Maybe he should curse the poison for making him soft. But right now he did not care. She was here with him. He was hurting and she was finally here with him and trying to comfort him.

"Shh Chris, everything is going to be fine...," Piper soothed him while she continued to stroke through his hair with her other hand, _"Everything is going to be alright soon." _

Leo added in a sincere tone, "We are sorry, son." He promised silently, _"I will be a better dad this time around."_

Chris looked up at him blankly. He tried to blink the tears away to see Leo clearly. He could not believe it. _Are you alright Leo?_

"I am very sorry that I always mistrusted you and accused you and insulted you and...," Leo quickly apologized for everything that came to his mind as he saw Chris´ doubting look which he had misinterpreted.

"Leo," Chris whispered softly and it arched Leo`s heart that Chris still didn`t call him 'dad'.

"It`s not your fault," Chris told him quietly while he looked into his eyes. _Please Leo... let`s move on._

"Maybe Chris," Leo protested, "But I behaved wrongly for sure."

"_And I can`t tell you enough how much I suffer right now... It`s breaking my heart that I was this way to my own son ... I swore to myself that I am a good daddy for Wyatt and then I treat you like shit... How can a parent fail worse?"_

"But Leo is not the only one," Piper butted in, "I feel just as guilty as he."

"_As Wyatt was born I was shocked at first. Not a girl but a boy – but as I saw him I immediately loved him more than anything else on earth. How could I not see that you are as wonderful as him? Who needs a daughter when her second son is this brave? I should be damned – I had no right to treat you like that but I can`t tell you that... I don`t know how."_

"But Piper," Chris interrupted her with emphasis as he looked at his parents. He caught their attention. Even Phoebe looked curiously.

_As I first came here I thought that you could recognize me... Maybe a premonition or an intuition... But none of that happened. I was a stranger to you. You treated me in the exact way as it was told in the history books. Mistrust and hatred towards the ones that try to endear themselves to you... I am so proud of you... But at the same time it hurt like hell to see you treat me like shit... But I figured that it was the best way... So I could protect Wyatt the best and I did not get in danger to get near to you Piper... I lost my mom once I could not go back and know that a version of you stays in the past and sobs..._

"We know Chris," Phoebe cut in quickly and added her own apology, "We should have trusted you earlier not when we heard your last name. You only had one goal and that should have been enough for us to trust you at least – I mean ..."

"_I am so sorry. Every day I write for people when they have problems and need help. But how could I forget about you? Everything of you screamed 'help me' when we were mean to you. Every time we accused you, you looked so... Well I don`t know but I should have noticed that you looked hurt... I should have helped you... Not now rather earlier. I should have supported you first because I sensed nothing evil from you. And that you took that potion ... I guess everyone would have done that... I know that I am annoying and my powers are too but... To cut it short... I am so sorry and I am still searching for the right words..."_

"Yes, Phoebe is right," Piper agreed solemnly with her sister, "We could have not liked you but we should have trusted you – you protected Wyatt with the most precious thing you have..."

"_I don`t know what`s gotten into me... I am such a horrible mother..."_

"Your life," Leo finished quietly as he looked intensely at Chris trying to make him understand and accept their apology. _"And I am so proud of you for that!"_

"But guys...," Chris began to protest again.

_Yeah afterwards you always see things clearer. But you have nothing to regret... Please don`t make that harder than it already is..._

"No Chris, we want to apologize but we also know that our behavior cannot be forgotten in two seconds. We know that we hurt you...," Phoebe explained.

"_And we would try everything to make things better"_

"We hurt you in a way that no one on earth should do," Leo admitted sadly.

"_And I call myself an elder... Someone who is purely good... I should be rather called a liar and be accused to be a horrible father..."_

"And that Wyatt figured you out but we didn`t is a proof that we are..." Piper trailed off blaming herself, _"stupid."_

"No," Chris whispered as he got his tears back under control. He straightened slightly to get his point across. "It`s good that you reacted the way that you did."

_You don`t need to feel guilty..._

"Huh?" Piper replied confused, _"What do you mean?"_

"What do you mean Chris?" Leo repeated as his son gathered his wits. _"It`s good?"_

"I mean that you behaved right – no I don`t mean that it did not hurt me. But ...," Chris was unsure of how to continue.

_How can I tell them that without sounding like an idiot?_

"What do you mean, our behaviour was right?" Phoebe inquired suspiciously. _"Chris there was nothing right what we did."_

"Don`t get me wrong... But if anyone else came along and protected Wyatt for a month – I don`t think that I would trust him," Chris explained and looked at them. He tried to make them see his point. _If you guys trust everyone then we would be lost..._

"Do you mean...?" Piper did not dare to form that thought into words. _"Oh Chris!"_

"Yes, I could have been a demon," Chris continued his explanation, "I was glad that you were so protective of Wyatt. That proofs how much you love him. He should be proud to have such a caring family." _And that is more than I could demand._

"But Chris, a mother should be able to identify her own son when she sees him!" Piper argued. _"She really should!"_

"Yes, but that was not normal. I mean I came from the future and you were not pregnant. How should you have known that I am your child and that you would get another boy?" Chris replied in a calm tone.

"_Even if I would have told you – you would not have believed me..."_

"He does have a point there," Leo admitted after a while and Chris looked at him somewhat thankfully.

_That`s a surprise Leo but a positive one... I never figured you were the first one to believe me._

"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked suspiciously. _"I don`t get it!"_

"Well when Piper was pregnant with Wyatt we thought that he would be a girl. Then you can imagine that the next child should have been a girl – no offense Chris," Leo explained, "The Halliwell line always consisted of women. What were the odds that the next child would be another boy?"

"_I hope that that is what you meant..."_

"Exactly my point," Chris agreed and nodded his head slowly.

_At least one member of my family got it..._

"Oh Chris I ... understand now... but...," Piper said between sobs. _"That does not justify our behavior!"_

"No Piper,... it`s okay," Chris assured her, "It is really okay with me." _Please mom! _

"Okay Chris, but we try to make things better from now on," Piper finally relented as she looked into her son´s sincere eyes. _"I think you`re right Chris..."_

"No," Chris simply replied. _What about Wyatt? You should not focus on me. I am only here to help save Wyatt._

"No?" Leo repeated incredulously. _"What is it?"_

"All I am saying is that you should protect Wyatt by vanquishing demons that could be a threat instead of fussing over me!" Chris clarified as if they were little children. _Please I am an adult and our main goal is to keep Wyatt safe!_

"But we are your parents!" Leo insisted. _"I am not going to continue my ignorant behavior!"_

"I know," Chris admitted without emotion or the blink of an eye, "But that does not change the facts." _But that is not my point..._

"Let`s make a deal," Piper suggested suddenly. _"I think I know what you fear Chris..."_

"What deal?" Chris asked warily. _"Oh no..."_

"We fuss over you and protect Wyatt," Piper announced and was satisfied with her decision. _"Then everyone is safe!"_

"Yeah, that`s a good plan!" Leo agreed. _"We can do that!"_

"I agree!" Phoebe jumped to her aid. _"I help wherever I can!"_

Chris sighed. There was no point in arguing any further if his mom had made up her mind. Some things never changed.

"Okay guys," Chris gave in. "But I can help you. You will not treat me with velvet gloves just because you now know that I am family."

_I don`t want to be put away! I could hunt demons before alone very well!_

"Of course, but you don`t put yourself in any danger!" Piper lectured him, "No alcohol, no bars, no late nighters. And I want to know where you are!" _"I know that I can`t tie you down.."_

"And you come to me when you need healing!" Leo more demanded than offered him. _"I can help you."_

"I am your shoulder to cry on!" Phoebe promised and smiled at him. _"Did that sound bad?"_

Paige orbed in. She had heard the whole conversation and added, "I can help, too!" _"I just don`t know how yet..."_

And Chris laughed. He laughed for the first time. He was barely mindful of his injuries because it felt so good to be finally able to laugh again. His family smiled at him.

_That is so my aunt Paige! And my family! At least before the event..._

_Maybe things could turn out right... Maybe... _

_Next step... get rid of this poison..._

TBC...

Hey guys!

I hope you like this chapter. I had some writer`s block this weekend and so I think that I should stop here and update... But the next one needs time... Sorry...

Please review in the meanwhile! I like your opinions to this story!

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	14. New trouble

I am really sorry guys for not updating earlier but the last two weeks were the busiest ones ever. I mean I had to practice very hard for my examen in driving (if you call that so) but in the end I had it! On the 10th of May I got it. Now I can officially drive with my parents... (special condition in Germany don`t ask...) Then I had a party which lastet three days and now. Furthermore I got ill. I think it`s the flu... But nevertheless I try to update...

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 14: New troubles**

"So what do we do now?" Piper asked as they had watched Chris laugh for a while.

"_There is so much to do... Heal Chris... Somehow... fix our relationship... Keep Wyatt good..."_

"I think we need to fix your leg now," Leo told Chris.

"_How am I supposed to do that without healing? I am afraid that you have to suffer longer, Chris, but on the other side..."_

"Yeah you seem to feel better since we kicked Jo`s ass!" Phoebe said. _"Maybe this demon prevented Leo from healing Chris earlier... I hope so"_

"It`s worth a try," Paige added and shrugged. _"Please let it work!"_

"Okay," Chris sighed.

_I am not sure if it works now... normally poisons do not need demons to maintain it..._

Leo kneeled next to Chris and held his hands over the injured leg. _"Come on! Work!"_

Everyone waited in anticipation for the golden glow to appear and set Chris´ leg right.

"_Soon you will be okay sweetie," _Piper promised Chris silently.

"_Dear nephew of mine ... there is so much to talk about...,"_ Phoebe thought.

"_Get better soon,"_ Paige wished him as she watched.

Leo was concentrating very hard. He flexed his hand softly and then held it over his son´s lower leg again willing it to work.

Chris was watching his hand but the look in his eyes told Leo what he was fearing all along. He would not work.

After a few minutes Piper interrupted, "I don`t get why it is not healing."

"_It should have been fixed by now! Please do not tell me that it still does not work!"_

"Me neither," Leo replied in defeat. _"That is so not possible... or is it?"_

"Maybe the poison has nothing to do with Jo," Paige mused. _"Oh no..."_

"But that would mean...," Piper said in horror. _"Great news...really... I am sick of it!"_

"...that I cannot heal my son?" Leo asked incredulously. _"No I am failing him again!"_

Chris flinched.

_Leo? Did you just call me son again? That is so creepy... But what worries me more is that I do not know how I can get better soon... Otherwise... I survived worse injuries..._

"Hey guys," He tried to assure them by fooling them, "I don`t think that it is broken and I dealt with worse before..."

He stopped short as he noticed their looks. _Shit...If only I have not said this..._

"Oh Chris!" Piper sobbed. _"He is so brave ... he suffered so much!"_

"No Piper, I did not mean it that way..." Chris corrected quickly and coughed violently. _What`s wrong now?_

"Areyoualright?" Leo asked him immediately without taking a breath. _"That sounded not healthy..." _ No way his leg is not broken. He just tried to be brave. Son, I can help you!

"I... *cough*... am... *cough*... fi... *cough*... ne" Chris wheezed out. _Damn it!_

He was not feeling too hot now. He clenched his hands in fists and tried to ride out the pain. He brought one of his hands up to wipe at his mouth with the back of his hand. He idly noticed that it came back wet.

"Oh my god! There is blood!" Phoebe shrieked and pointed at Chris. _"He is really dying!"_

"_What?_" Piper shouted back. _" ?"_

"Yes, there!" Paige agreed and pointed to where Phoebe was pointing. _"That is so not good!"_

Leo looked worriedly over to Chris and then he saw it, too. _"Why can`t I help him?"_

"Oh shit," Chris coughed once more. He inspected his left hand that was covered in blood and involuntarily winced. He looked horrified at his family.

_This time it seems to be worse than I thought..._

"Hospital _Now_!" Piper demanded and rushed to catch her keys. _"faster!"_

Chris cringed at the word 'hospital'.

"No orbing?" Leo shouted. _"We need the fastest way!"_

"We don`t want to make it worse! Last times he vomitted after orbing!" Piper shouted back. _"That could be his death!"_

Chris thought tiredly, _What have I gotten myself into now?_

* * *

In a safe distance a demon smiled.

"_And I thought that you would be immune against that, too. I am very glad that you suffer Matt!"_

**TBC...**

Sorry but I thought that a short update is better than nothing...

I try to work on more tomorrow when I feel better...

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	15. What is wrong with Leo?

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 15: What is wrong with Leo?**

**A/N: Please do not kill me but Leo has to be a big bad ass in this chapter and the following ones... It is all the plan of a special demon... But I will explain things in further updates! Big promise!**

"But he has no ID," Phoebe shouted excited as she was running around in the house, "How are we going to explain who he is?"

Leo had picked Chris up again in bridal style and carried him out of the house.

"_There are more troubles coming..."_

_She has a point there dad..._

Piper had rushed out of the house minutes before them. She was now waiting in the car up front. The window was down and she yelled at them, "Hurry up!"

Paige had fetched Wyatt from his crib and joined them. "O_kay, ready to go!"_

"We think of something!" Leo shouted back and woke Wyatt up. _"We just have to." _

"Hey Wyatt. We`re taking your brother to a doctor okay? It`s nothing serious," Paige tried to soothe one of her nephews. She was rocking him back and forth and hurried out of the house. _"I really hope that that is right!"_

"Cwis?" Wyatt asked groggily. _"What have I missed?"_

"I hope he will be okay," Paige whispered and Wyatt looked worried at her. _"No panic..."_

"And what are you going to say?" Phoebe asked Leo as they reached the car.

"_Hey, it`s my future son. No, he was in a fight – yeah with demons... Nope, that happens a lot... Great who will buy that?"_

"She`s right, Leo," Chris tried to help Phoebe.

_We cannot tell them the truth! It would be easier if you let me stay here! Hospitals in this time line are no better than the ones in the future._

"No, she`s not!" Leo cut him off, "We find a way. We always do!" _"We just have to!"_

_If you say so..._

"Hurry up, you guys!" Piper shouted. _"Okay, ready to go in 5 minutes top!"_

_I would if I could..._

"But Piper!" Phoebe protested again. _"Don`t you see ... ?"_

_Phoebe..._

"Shut up, Phoebe!" Leo shouted at her and she looked stunned at him. "Just get in the car or come with another one!" _"You are annoying Phoebe!"_

_Was that really dad? Why is he this angry or is it just worry?_

Leo opened the back door. He leaned forward a bit and heaved Chris´ upper body into the car. He tried to be careful but to Chris it still felt like agony.

_Easy dad! I am injured! I am a human being who can feel pain..._

Leo got in with Chris and pulled his torso the rest of the way in while trying to shake the broken leg as little as possible. When he had him inside the car Leo leaned over Chris who moaned softly. _That hurt..._

Leo closed the back door and told Piper in an urgent voice, "Piper, your sisters come with Wyatt in their cars. We can drive now!"

"_Why are you so slow? Hurry up!"_

_Dad easy! _

"Okay Leo!" Piper answered in a nanosecond and drove off with squeaking tires.

_Great, exclusive with your loving father on the backseat of your mother´s car! Could there be anything more joyful?_

_Whoa! If we get in a car crash now..._

Paige, Wyatt and Phoebe looked worriedly after them as Piper took off at top speed.

"I don`t think that we are as fast as Piper," Phoebe muttered, "Not with our cars and a morality." _"Are they nuts?"_

"Yeah, but she has an emergency on her backseat" Paige protected her. _"Lame..."_

"Mommy!" Wyatt´s little fists waved urgently. He orbed a little flower from the ground into his hand and wagged it around. _"We`re faster if we orb!"_

"Yeah, why don´t we orb? I mean none of us would vomit right?" Phoebe said. _"We need to keep an eye on those parents!"_

"Maybe we`re faster!" Paige giggled and looked proudly at Wyatt. _"Why did I not think of that?"_

"One question Paige. Did Leo seem to act ... well... strange... ?" Phoebe asked. _"He is so not normal..."_

"I think it`s the stress. I mean his son is in danger...," Paige trailed off and then she realized, "Yeah he was so hooked up with Chris that he completely forgot about Wyatt!" _"What`s wrong with him?"_

"And he told me to shut up," Phoebe complained, "Normally he would not do that. And you can`t tell me that that is because of stress." _"I cannot put my finger on it..."_

"Do you think...?" Paige could not finish that thought. _"That would be horrible!"_

"Yes, I think something bad happened to him, too" Phoebe muttered. _"Something really bad!"_

* * *

"Piper, hurry up!" Leo shouted at his ex-wife for the hundredth time as he held Chris firmly pressed against the seats to try to keep him from being thrown around in the car. Piper was driving way past speed limit but to Leo it seemed she was simply not driving fast enough.

"I`m trying to but those da** cars won`t get away!" Piper replied distressed and pressed the gas pedal some more while she furiously honked to get the cars to move to the side.

"Hey guys" Chris coughed. The whole car drive was agony to him. Whenever they hit a bump, had to slow down or accelerate he was in pain. Every jostle sent waves of pain through him. He also could not fight the feeling of dread inside his gut. Something was terribly wrong.

"No Chris, you keep quiet," Leo ordered him in a firm voice and pushed him down further. To say it hurt would be an understatement.

"No!" Chris insisted as soon as he had enough breath, "Listen guys! I`m fine."

"No, you`re not," Piper retorted harshly.

"Maybe, but you are only going to kill yourself!" Chris replied in a calm voice as he tried to give her a meaningful look. Yet, she looked straight ahead at the street and could not see him.

"No Chris! Your mother only wants the best for you!" Leo yelled at Chris who flinched in return. The loud voice was hurting his head. The bumpy road was turning his stomach around and he tried his hardest to prevent a terrible traffic accident from happening.

"Listen Leo! You two are not my original parents! And I can take care of myself!" Chris was trying to use the dirty way. He knew it would not work but he had to try everything. With the way Piper was driving their ride would certainly end soon.

"No, you can`t! Look at you!" Leo scolded him as he looked at him intensely.

"Look at you! This happened because I had to protect your precious child Wyatt!" Chris shot back and his voice was raised as it responded to Leo´s anger. Chris was never good at this. He always got into a fight with Leo.

"Don`t blame your brother!" Leo hissed at him.

"I`m not! I`m just saying that you are overreacting! I AM FINE!" Chris hissed back and his voice oozed with venom.

"Chris, if you say those words again I swear I`ll teach you a lesson!" Leo promised him. As a warning his fist was held barely at his son´s face ready to strike out.

"What`s gotten into you Leo?" Chris inquired dangerously.

"Nothing!" Leo huffed, "I just try to make sure that we understand each other!"

"Well, an elder does not speak so!" Chris argued and provoked Leo.

Leo ignored the elder part and added more fiercely, "Yeah, but a parent does when a child behaves wrongly!"

"What did I do wrong this time?" Chris asked incredulously. He could not believe this. It was as if he were in his own time again.

"Nearly everything!" Leo spat out.

"Look, you are never going to change Leo!" Chris told him quietly. His venom had left his voice.

"Don`t talk to me like that!" Leo threatened him and clenched his fist some more.

"Then what? Do you want to carry a corpse to the hospital?" Chris shot back, "You always wanted to get rid of me, why should it be any different this time? Why? Tell me!"

"CHRIS!" Piper yelled back as she could not believe what she just had heard.

"What?" Chris snapped at her and immediately felt sorry. He could not do this to her. She was only trying to help. It was Leo he was angry at.

"LEO! CHRIS! Would you two back off of each other already?!" Piper ordered as she cast a quick glance over her shoulder, "Leo, don´t you dare hit our boy!"

"Why? Let him tell his point! Go on Chris!" Leo huffed and lowered his fist, "Tell us Chris!"

"Okay," Chris relented with new venom to his voice.

"No Chris, you don`t! And you Leo should let him rest!" Piper ordered them as she once again looked back.

"Piper, do not tell me what to do! It was you who wanted the divorce! So now let me take things over!" Leo snapped at her.

"So it`s my fault now?!" Piper replied incredulously, "Last time I checked, _you chose_ to be an elder!"

"What? I told you already, I did not choose to be an elder! I was made one! I was tricked, I ..." Leo shouted at her wrathfully.

"Guys! Stop it! Why don`t we drive back to the manor?" Chris cut in. He knew it was his fault that they were arguing but he just wanted to be as far away from Leo and a hospital as possible.

"No, Chris!" Piper dismissed his input.

"She`s right! You need to see a doctor!" Leo agreed with her and immediately was at her throat again, "So Piper, what takes you so long?"

"If it`s not fast enough you can drive!" Piper shot back angrily as she sped up some more.

_This cannot be happening. I knew they had issues because of this whole elder business but they seem to be ready to rip each other apart. Something does not feel right. I need to get to the bottom of this._

"G U Y S!" Chris yelled at them. It caused him to cough but it was worth the trouble.

"WHAT?!" They shot back.

"Don`t you think that this is strange?" Chris asked them.

"NO!" They retorted and fell silent.

"Okay...," Chris muttered and fell silent, too.

The rest of the drive went on in dead silence. The atmosphere was tense with the anger that lay in the air. A small spark and they would be at each other´s throat again.

After a few more minutes they reached their goal.

Piper jumped out of the car and ran towards the entrance.

"I need help!" She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Leo got out of the car and helped Chris into a sitting posture none too gently. Chris suppressed a cry.

Neither one of them spoke. All were lost in their own thoughts.

_Leo is acting so strange... Was he hit by some sort of potion? And Piper, why did she forget about Wyatt? Where are her sisters?_

"_Chris is an idiot! But he needs me I am his dad. And he has to obey me because I am his dad!"_

* * *

"Everything went perfectly according to the plan – good!" the demon said triumphantly to his companions.

"I like to see the family suffer," another one added with a smirk, "those damn Halliwells!"

"What do you want us to do next master Jo?" yet another demon asked curiously.

"Well, Matt suffers, his dad is infected and his mother can do nothing about it. Now you can overpower the rest of the Charmed Ones and finally kill that bastard Wyatt," Jo replied.

"Yes sir!" all the demons replied and saluted in respect.

"Today is my day!" Jo laughed evilly.

* * *

"Yes ma`am?" a nurse with short black hair looked up from her desk at the front entrance.

"My name is Piper Halliwell. And I have a boy in my car. He was in a bad accident and has his leg broken, I think. But worst of all he is coughing up blood!"

"Calm down ma`am," the nurse answered Piper calmly, "I´ll send paramedics to him. In the meanwhile I can go over to him. Can you come with me?"

Piper only nodded and watched as the nurse gave orders over a little phone and then walked with her back to the car.

Chris was still sitting awkwardly in the car and glared at Leo. Whenever Chris tried to talk to him, Leo would snap at him urging him to stay silent and to obey. Whenever Chris tried to move a muscle Leo was over him and yelled at him. Therefore he currently could only glare at Leo.

Leo, however, only looked around looking lost. Well, not lost... rather ready to blow things up...

"Finally!" he grunted as Piper and the nurse joined them.

"Leo!" Piper hissed in warning and her glare silenced him.

Chris only swallowed and his glance darkened.

_If I can lay hands on you, you dirty little demon who did this to my parents!_

"My name`s Stacy and who are you?" The nurse talked to Chris and totally ignored Leo. She put on fresh gloves. As she saw Chris` leg she hurried over and looked at it closely. She then looked at Chris and took in his appearance, "Can you look at me boy?"

"I`m Chris," he told her flatly, refused to look at her and instead shot a worried and nervous look over at Leo. He sensed his foul mood.

She put her fingers to his neck and checked his pulse. It was steady but fast. She felt his forehead and noted how hot to the touch it felt. Every time she touched the boy he would flinch but his eyes never left the man. She kept that thought in the back of her mind. She needed to talk to the boy alone.

She felt around his head and noted a few swellings. She cursed under her breath as she laid eyes on his broken finger. Whatever this accident had been she would have to wonder about it later.

"Can you follow my finger, please?" the nurse asked him and held a finger in front of his eyes. His eyes narrowed down on it and then followed its movement with his eyes. It cast nervous glances back at Leo all the time but otherwise the boy seemed alert.

"Good...," she murmured but was interrupted harshly by Leo.

"Can`t you bring him in there and fix him?!" Leo nearly shouted at her as he was suddenly leaning over her shoulder, "Why are you playing this silly game with him?!"

"Sir, I must ask you to go and leave me to my work," the nurse told him calmly. She was used to angry relatives who would scream or yell or cry. It was her job to tend to the sick and injured but she was also schooled in dealing with relatives or friends.

"Leo... I`d rather you let me stay alone with her...," Chris whispered barely audible. He nervously gulped down and awaited a certain punch. He visibly shrank.

That was like a punch for Leo and he was furious beyond reason now.

"NO CHRIS! For God`s sake _I_ am _your_ father! _I_ protect _you_, _I_ help _you_, _I_ am responsible _you_ and _you_ have to do what _I_ say!" he yelled at his son and raised his fist to punch Chris. He tried to knock sense into his son who had to obey.

Piper froze time; she had heard enough.

"LEO? What the hell has gotten into you?!" Piper yelled at her ex-husband as she unfroze him.

"Nothing, Piper! But those doctors are not good enough for our son!" Leo pointed an accusing finger at the nurse and shot her a meaningful look.

"_Our_ son?" Piper shouted back, "Since when did you ask me when we discussed his illness?"

"Do I have to ask you for ...?" Leo yelled back.

"G U Y S!" Chris shouted trying to drown out his parents´ shouting, "Shut _up_ the both of you!"

He erupted in a heavy coughing fit which had him put his hands to his chest as he fought for breath.

"And you, young man, I told you that _you_ do what _I_ want!" Leo told Chris harshly.

"Leo!" Piper yelled in exasperated, "_He_ is suffocating and _you_ worry about the chain of command!" She wanted to run over to her son but Chris´ plea stopped her.

"Piper!" Chris coughed, "Unfreeze her! Hurry!"

Chris knew that something was seriously wrong. Leo acted like a tyrant even more than in his own time line. Piper was acting as if he was the only thing in the world that mattered to her, she had completely forgotten about Wyatt. His aunts were god-only-knows-where. Wyatt was with them and hopefully safe.

His chest constricted in pain, his breathing pained him so much that he almost thought about ceasing it. He looked at the nurse willing her to unfreeze and free him not only of the pain but also of a violent Leo. He needed help. He needed someone to fix things. Normally he would have done so but he was a mess.

He looked up one more time to see if the nurse was back to normal only to find her still frozen. Piper had not reacted. Leo had not yet reacted. Chris idly thought that they had not heard him but quickly dismissed the idea of yelling again.

Darkness crept around his vision once more.

He coughed some more and could feel the metallic taste in his mouth. Great, he had coughed up more blood. The very reason he was here. Yet, he had not received help yet. As his body was hit with another wave of tearing agony he looked up at his parents one last time.

Piper looked at Leo. Leo was seething with uncontrollable rage.

Chris had no idea why they had suddenly changed like that and to his surprise he did not care anymore. With a last rattling breath that hurt in his throat and lungs he let his head sink in defeat.

Another wave of pain hit him hard and unprepared. The darkness around him swallowed him.

...

" ! ! ! !" her screamed could be heard everywhere as her son fell out of the car like a limp potato sack. He landed on his face with a hard puff.

Piper unfroze time and before she could say anything at all Leo shouted at the top of his lungs: "H E L P! HELP!"

**Tbc...**

Yeah again sorry guys but I continue later or maybe tomorrow... Right now I need to check this new show out that I found... It`s called Wolf`s rain... I hope you like the new update!

Please review! I like them all!

**Exclusive for my great reviewers!**

A preview for the next update(s):

Piper gets in trouble with personal questions about Chris in the hospital

Leo gets taken away... (evil grin...)

Paige and Phoebe get attacked...

Wyatt... well, you`ll see...

The doctors are not who they seem to be...

And a person will appear who will not only be a help for the Charmed Ones...

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	16. Emergency

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 16: Emergency**

The time seemed to stand still. Everything was so awkward.

The usual business in the parking lot of the hospital was still going on. Cars were arriving and people who had finished their visiting sessions were returning to their cars and leaving. The whole world seemed obvious to the fact that Piper´s had just stopped.

Piper could not breathe.

Her baby just dropped to the ground like a lifeless sack. She did not know what had happened. She was unable to think clearly. One minute she was furious at Leo for acting so strange and the next minute her baby boy was clutching his chest and keeling over.

Leo looked stunned over to the scene unable to form a thought. He looked confused and seemed not to have grasped what had happened. But the rage was still with him and it seemed to grow stronger and stronger.

Why his son? What did all of them do wrong? Why did it have to be his son of all people? Couldn´t that sorry bastard look after himself properly for once?

Several nurses and doctors rushed over to the fallen boy after they had heard Piper´s frantic shriek. They came up next to Stacy and immediately tried to assess the situation.

"Blood pressure!" one shouted. "How?" – "No equipment! Damn it, hurry up!"

"Look at his leg!" another shouted. – "That looks awful!"

"We need to stabilize him first!" - "Easier said than done! Just look at the boy!"

People were yelling at each other, shouting orders, quickly dismissing them. Overall it looked just like a bunch of bees that had been flushed. Piper followed the commotion but could not make her legs work. Leo was not fairing any better.

While everyone did something but nobody did anything that helped the boy who was lying on the floor one of the men in white quickly crouched down next to Chris. He held his fingers to his neck as a nurse looked over. She appeared to be satisfied that at least one man would do something that she quickly averted her gaze.

As the man looked around himself he noted that no one else paid him any attention. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a crystalline injection. He pushed the plunger a little bit to get rid of the air bubbles.

He took another cautious glance around. Satisfied that he was still without attention of the bystanders he grabbed Chris´ left wrist and pulled at the arm. Then he pierced the skin in the crook of the arm with the pinpoint and injected the orange liquid into Chris´ bloodstream.

He withdrew the syringe and immediately pulled it back into his pocket. Seconds later he heard Piper Halliwell shout over the noise, "What`s wrong with him?!"

"_Please let him be okay!"_

"Miss? I need you to come with me..." a nurse said to Piper as she approached her.

"NO!" Piper retorted and finally found the strength to move a bit backward, away from the nurse. _"I stay with my son!"_

Then she seemed to realize that she was walking further away from Chris and took a step forward. The nurse misinterpreted this and back away a bit. She thought that Piper could become violent at any minute now. Upset relatives could always become violent, sooner or later and the nurse was well educated.

"Sir, can you tell me any details about your son?" the first one who had rushed out of the hospital asked Leo. He had come up next to Leo and spoke in a calm voice.

"No, he cannot," Piper cut in harshly and added, "And this is my son, too!" She took another threatening step forward. But Piper could only think about getting near to her son who was still lying deathly still on the ground while everyone whirled around.

"Please Miss, you need to calm down!" the nurse tried to calm Piper down again. She hoped that she did not have to stop the woman with violence but it seemed like she would have to do it.

"How?!" Piper shouted at her. She looked at the woman as if she were the dumbest person she had ever seen, "For god's sake he is my son! How should I calm down when he is lying there and probably... "

Piper gulped and bit back a wail of anguish as she thought that Chris could be dead already. Then she detected the slight rise and lowering of his chest and nearly fainted from relief.

"What`s his name?" a doctor wanted to know. They needed information and they needed theses parents to stay calm. His training would be needed otherwise, too.

"It's Chris," Leo spat out angrily, "His name´s Chris!"

Leo sounded as if the pure name was poison on his tongue. The doctor ignored the venom in his voice and turned back to Chris.

"Hey Chris, can you hear me?" the doctor tried to talk to him as he prodded his shoulder. Then he ordered with authority, "Unresponsive, we need to get him inside!"

The nurses and doctors who recently were running around blindly finally seemed to focus as they heard his order. Quickly they set to work.

"Is he ... is hhe...?" Piper sobbed she couldn´t bring herself to voice it Was he dead, would he die? Why weren´t they helping him?

"No Ma´am," the nurse said gently but emphatically sensing that Piper was near breakdown. She was standing next to Piper now and carefully laid a helping hand on Piper´s shoulder. Piper was suddenly glad that someone was giving her an anchor and did only nod in mute reply.

"Why are you freakin bastards waiting so long?!" Leo yelled suddenly and threw his hands in the air. He glared daggers at the commotion in front of him and seethed with anger.

Leo´s enormously loud yell startled Chris awake.

As he was coming around from the bliss of darkness that had enveloped him in a warm and pain-free embrace he did not immediately know where he was and why he was here.

His first thoughts drifted back to the time where he came from. He felt every hurting muscle, nerve and damaged tissue. He knew he had been through a lot if he even grasped every wound he had gotten.

_Please do not let it be Wyatt's dungeon..._

He sensed commotion around him. He knew something had startled him awake but for the life of him he could not remember the words or their meaning. He focused on the people around him instead.

_Everywhere... almost everywhere are demons... I need to get out of here..._

Panic was building inside of him. He had no chance against this many. He had run out of magical power and given his current physical state would not be able to outrun anyone. Fearing helpless and as easy prey Chris´ breathing sped up. He knew he should not alert them to his current state of awareness but he could not help himself.

He hurt everywhere. Everyone around him seemed hostile and evil.

"Hey, he's awake!" another nurse suddenly announced. Her voice got nearer and he heard her speak to him softly, "Easy there. Do you know where you are?"

_Demons... they're everywhere..._

Demons always messed with his head. They tried every strategy to get him to do their bidding and finally to become Wyatt´s number one slave. He was used to their tricks; he knew their habits, their preferences. He could not stop them but that did not prevent him from thinking up plans for his escape. He would escape them, sooner or later.

"I think he has hit his head," a nurse told the doctor worriedly and pointed to the big red point on Chris head, "He could be disoriented."

"Just look at his bare torso! He looks like he was beaten up!" another one claimed.

"What kind of parents are they?!" yet another indignant person interposed.

"HE IS MY SON AND I AM A GOOD FATHER!" Chris suddenly heard a man sounding awfully like Leo yell at the top of his lungs. At his sudden outburst all people – demons – around him fell silent.

Chris flinched. If Leo was here and all of these people were indeed demons than he was more than screwed. The hopelessness of his situation dropped on him like a bomb. He curled up as much as possible despite the sharp pain and clutched his head. He began to whisper, "No no no no no no."

His thoughts were running wild. He knew he had to get away. He knew he had to fight or run.

_This cannot be happening... There is a demon next to me... I need to get away form here! _

The doctor noticed his patient´s distressed behaviour and quickly grabbed a sedative out of his other pocket. He had hoped that he did not have to use this but with the Halliwell boys one had to be prepared for everything.

"Calm down, Chris," the doctor tried to soothe the boy. Chris was in a full blown panic attack now and the doctor could see every sign of it.

The boy was panting. His breath was ragged and his whole body was covered in sweat. Although he was severely injured the boy rocked back and forth slightly while he clutched his head, rubbing his knuckles against the side of his head. Between gasps and whimpers the boy muttered incoherently syllables.

Finally he had cleared the syringe of air bubbles, the syringe that was filled with 2.5 mg Alprazolam, a tranquilizer.

"Are you?" Chris tried to speak, he had to do something. He tried to make himself heard and tried to repeat his question but the person next to him suddenly grabbed his right wrist and the pain exploded. He sucked in a sharp breath as he tried to withstand the pain that was shooting up his arm and quickly spreading through his body.

Whoever was next to him clearly knew how to inflict pain and Chris hated him for it.

His arm was outstretched and he could feel a pinpoint in the crook of his arm. It registered too late in his mind that was still overwhelmed with the pain radiating from his broken right wrist that was still grabbed firmly.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he felt something pierce his skin and then something warm flowed from the crook in his right arm towards his shoulder. It spread first to his throat and flowed everywhere into his body.

The warmth took the pain slowly away. Darkness began to creep in and Chris was suddenly aware that he had been victim to a tranquilizer. As happy as he was for the pain to subside as frightened was he to feel his grip on consciousness slip away.

He tried a feeble attempt to hold onto consciousness a little longer but before long he was pulled back into the darkness. And the pain and his awareness left him.

"_Damn kid knew that I was a demon... Shit..." _the doc thought angrily as he wiped away sweat from his eyebrow. He should have known that this boy was no less dangerous than the twice-blessed.

"He lost consciousness again!" a nurse shrieked as she noticed Chris´ change, "Hurry!"

"Help him!" Piper demanded choking back tears. _"My poor boy!"_

Leo stormed over to the paramedics ready to rip them apart. He had seen enough or better he had witnessed enough lack of action for him to take over. He was not only seething with rage he was finally blinded by it.

"You bastards!" he shouted angrily at all the medical staff, "You idiots! You should have helped him! Morons! Hypocrites!"

"Leo, stop!" Piper screamed, shrugged off the nurse´s hand and took after him, "Would you shut up!"

The alerted security guards stepped into Leo´s way and pushed Leo back slightly.

"Sir, calm down!" one of them said as he held a warning hand in front of Leo´s chest. The other one was standing next to his partner ready to interfere if Leo were to take another step forward.

"Only when those guys ...!" Leo began to hiss but Piper quickly interrupted, "He will!"

She put her hands on Leo´s shoulders and gently pulled him back a bit trying to show him that he had to get himself under control before they could do anything. Exposing magic in rage was not going to help any of them nor would starting to throw punches help.

Finally two men appeared with a stretcher. They wheeled it over to their car and next to Chris. The medics seemed to think that they were safe to move Chris as long as he was out of it. To Leo and Piper it seemed as if they had no medical training whatsoever.

They grabbed Chris under his arms and legs and quickly hoist him on the stretcher completely unaware of his multiple fractures or wounds. They strapped him down and wheeled him away.

"Finally," Leo muttered still visibly angry but he crossed his arms in front of his chest and shifted his weight to the balls of his feet. He exhaled slowly.

Piper only glared at him.

As much as she had wanted help for Chris this was not exactly what she had imagined. But as she was standing here now she was powerless to do anything. First she had to get Leo back together before she could storm in there and demand an actual human and caring being to tend to her son.

In the meanwhile the doctors shouted to their staff various numbers and tasks while they stormed after the stretcher.

The doctor from before, however, used another little potion on Chris as he rushed next to him and smiled evilly, "Have nice dreams, Matt!"

* * *

Phoebe, Paige and Wyatt drove along the streets. They were riding in Paige´s car. Paige was driving, Phoebe sat shotgun and little Wyatt was safely secured on the backseat.

"It is really a long way to the hospital!" Phoebe complained while she fidgeted with her fingers. _"We should have been there like yesterday!"_

She dared not to think of all the horrible outcomes this day could take. She wished to know if Chris was alright.

"Yeah? Is that so?" Paige replied nonchalantly and looked nervous. _"I know, I know!"_

She was beginning to feel annoyed at the heavy traffic herself. Somehow half of San Francisco had to drive somewhere freaking now!

Unnoticed by them Wyatt sensed danger. He knew they were no longer alone. Without second thought as he had come used to it he called forth his magic. A blue shield of pure magic was raised. _"Demons!"_

"What is it, sweetie?" Phoebe inquired and looked back at him. She knew from experience that when Wyatt raised his shield he had a good enough reason to do so. _"Shield? Demons?"_

"He noticed it, too," Paige muttered under her breath and looked into the rear window. _"Great boy!"_

"Noticed what?" Phoebe replied confused. She felt like she had just missed a conversation between her sister and her nephew. _"Hello?"_

"There are demons in this ally," Paige explained curtly. _"Lots of them!"_

"Really?!" Phoebe said alarmed. She knew exactly what that meant. But she had to ask her sister anyway, "What now?" _"Not good! I had this feeling all the way along ..."_

"I tried to take another route but I think that they want to prevent us from driving to the hospital!" Paige enlightened Phoebe. _"And they did a really good job!"_

"Well, then we orb!" Phoebe announced. She was fed up with demons. All she wanted to do was go to Piper´s side and help her through this pain. _"Why did it not work?"_

"Didn't we try that like 10 times before?" Paige reminded her surly. She still had no clue as to why it was impossible for her and her nephew to orb. _"I wonder why it is blocked. What do those demons plan with Piper, Leo and Chris?"_

"Yeah, it all makes sense now!" Phoebe exclaimed suddenly and looked excited at her discovery. _"They want to separate us!"_

"Really?" Paige asked her sceptically. _"Spill it!"_

"They are really trying to keep us away from them!" Phoebe clarified.

"Plus Leo is obviously not himself anymore and Chris is hurt. Piper is acting weird, too," Paige thought out loud. They had to figure the plan of these demons out or they were screwed.

"Yeah, she forgot about my special nephew here!" Phoebe reminded Paige and tried to figure out what kind of attack this could have caused.

"Mommy! Cwis!" Wyatt defended his mommy in his baby voice.

"It's quite possible that Piper is just worried sick about Chris but it is not good!" Paige contemplated.

"Yeah, she has two sons not just one!" Phoebe added.

"But sometimes parents cannot be there for two of them at the same time," Paige explained to Phoebe. She had seen enough neglected children to speak from experience although she herself was not a mother yet.

"Says you," Phoebe retorted.

"Yeah me. After all I am adopted!" Paige defended her statement.

"What has that to do with this?" Phoebe asked her incredulously.

"Why was I adopted? Because my biological parents could not keep me!" Paige explained as if Phoebe were dumb.

"What has that to do with us?" Phoebe inquired rather annoyed now.

"Nothing I'm just saying that parents do strange things in difficult situations!" Paige declared.

"Oh really," Phoebe interjected sarcastically.

"Phoebe let's change the subject!" Paige burst out exasperated.

"Okay how about: Do we vanquish the demons now?" Phoebe agreed as she looked at her sister with a serious and do-not-screw-with-me-look.

"Why now?" Paige shot back and looked at Phoebe only to see her roll her eyes.

"Because they're standing on the road, stupid," Phoebe retorted and returned her gaze to the street.

"What?!" Paige exclaimed shocked. She stepped hard on the breaks of her car. Where only minutes before had been a row of cars causing a massive traffic jam there were now several demons all smirking at them.

"Very well let's fight!" Paige agreed and opened the driver´s door.

"I'll take Wyatt!" Phoebe announced and got of the car.

"Okay Phoebe I protect you as good as I can!" Paige promised her as she hurried around the car to stand in front of her sister and her nephew.

Wyatt, however, as soon as Phoebe had taken him out of the car raised his little hands towards the demons. A sudden burst of energy emitted out of these little hands and vanquished at least three demons in one attack. Wyatt had a serious look on his face as if he wanted to tell the demons, "No one will prevent me from going to my brother!"

"He scares me, Paige," Phoebe muttered as she watched in awe how her little nephew just took care of three demons on his own.

"Yeah that is creepy...," Paige agreed as she looked stunned.

Wyatt let out a breath that almost sounded like a growl and shot another energy wave at the demons which succeeded in vanquishing even more.

Paige and Phoebe got out of their reverie as the demons began to look sinister and conjured energy balls and daggers in their hands. The sisters took their fighting stances and prepared to help Wyatt. All the time they could not shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong.

* * *

_..._

_Wyatt? _

_..._

_Mom?_

_..._

_Leo?_

_..._

_Where am I?_

_..._

_It's cold here..._

_And I am scared..._

_Mommy?_

_..._

_Where are you?..._

* * *

"What does that mean?!" Piper shouted at the person who stood in front of them. She had her hands on her hips and was furious beyond reason.

"You can NOT take me away from my son!" Leo hissed as he took a threatening step forward.

"I am afraid I can, Leo," the person said, "You were poisoned." He stood calmly in front of him completely unconcerned by Leo´s tone or Piper´s temper.

"Cut the crap!" Piper retorted, "You freakin elders only want to take him away from me and my kid!" Piper also took a threatening step forward. She clenched her hands to fists barely refraining from blowing the elder up.

"Piper, he was really poisoned!" the elder tried to explain to Piper but he knew it was hopeless.

"Maybe, but he needs to be with Chris!" Piper shot back not wanting to believe the elder but deep down she already knew it to be true.

"I am afraid that won't be possible, Piper," the elder told her in a quiet tone.

"Then make it!" Piper ordered him.

"NO – I am taking him with me now!" the elder lost his calm for a second.

"Try!" Leo hissed as he raised his fists.

"Don't you dare!" Piper threatened.

The elder did not hesitate any longer. It was known among all elders how much Piper´s power was hurting and he did not want to experience it firsthand. He also had more important things to do. One of his own was poisoned and he needed to help him even against his will.

The elder orbed behind Leo careful to avoid the fists and laid a hand on Leo´s shoulder. Leo only had the time to tense as he was abruptly engulfed in blue orbs and the elder took him away.

"Damn elders!" Piper cried. She could not believe it. Leo was strange, yes, but she needed him here with her. But for now she could not worry about the elders she had to help Chris first. Therefore she hurried to her son.

"I am in a big nightmare here!" she screamed at no one in particular.

* * *

"Shit the elders intervened," Jo cursed. He had been watching the whole affair from behind a parked car. So far he had been pleased with the outcome of his devilish plan but the sudden interference from the elder did not feel right to him.

"Any problems?" another person asked him as he appeared next to him.

"No Jo... we will get them!" Jo looked at the man and smirked, "Oh, we will get them!"

And then they shimmered to Wyatt.

* * *

"Damn it!"

"What is it?"

"He is not stable enough to operate on him!" the first doctor cursed under his breath.

"Then put him in a waiting room! We have enough work to do already," another doctor told him nonchalantly.

"What?! You can't be serious!" the doctor shot back indignantly.

"Sorry, I think it's the lack of sleep," the second doctor replied as he sheepishly scratched his head.

"But his leg does not need surgery anyway," a nurse informed them.

"Really?!" the second doctor asked incredulously the insolent nurse.

"Maybe you should just go home and sleep," the first doctor told the second one solemnly.

"Why?" the second one answered confused.

"You nearly gave a wrong ...," the first one scolded him.

"Don't you dare to critic me!" the second interrupted him harshly.

"She's right!" the first one said referring to the nurse.

"But sir?!" the second one inquired shocked.

"Go home Jo! The boy will be in good hands with her," the first one ordered Jo, the second doctor.

"But... his parents! Look at the boy!" Jo tried to convince him to rethink his decision.

"What do you mean?" the first one asked suspiciously.

"I think that it is a case of parental abuse!" Jo finally burst out.

"What?!" the first doctor exclaimed shocked. He had not met the parents.

"I am afraid but I have to second that!" the nurse interjected and looked serious.

"Is that so?" the first doctor inquired fearing the worst.

"Yes, the boy flinched at the sound of his father's voice and kept saying no," the nurse informed him.

"Then keep his parents out of his room and call the service," the first doctor made up his mind. He would keep the boy safe.

"Yes sir," the nurse immediately replied and took off.

"And you," the first doctor said, turned and pointed a finger to Jo´s chest, "go home. NOW!"

"Yes sir...," Jo relented and trailed off. _"Shit how can I keep an eye on Matt now?"_

The first doctor walked off and left Jo alone. The demon went to a room and shimmered away.

The nurse, however, walked back to Chris´ room as soon as the both of them had left.

* * *

_Confusing in here..._

_And so cold..._

_..._

_..._

_freezing cold..._

_..._

_I want to go home..._

_Where it is warm and nice and..._

_..._

_Grr that light..._

* * *

The nurse quickly checked the floor. Currently she was alone. She was satisfied by that. She knew exactly where the boy was and how to get there. She had worked long and hard enough for this day. Her boss would be extremely proud of her when she had finished her business.

She made sure one last time that she was indeed alone then she slipped through the door in which she knew they had put the latest patient while they waited for his vitals to stabilize. They knew they could operate on him soon and knowing how busy the hospital was lately they had done the first thing that had come to mind: they had put the injured boy in a waiting room.

The nurse knew it was an inhuman thing to do but it was to her advantage. She knew what to do.

She let herself in the room and quietly closed the door behind her. Then she saw him.

Christopher freakin´ Halliwell was lying unconscious on a stretcher, left alone. He was bloody and bruised but the nurse knew that he would live – for now. Quietly she inched closer to his side. She noticed how the heart monitor and the oxygen mask did their work.

She was surprised that no other medical person was available. Yet at the same time she was glad. It seemed as if a new emergency kept them busy.

As she began to get ready to do her side of the deal she was humming a hymn. Chris stirred as the soft song reached his ears.

A sweet sounding tone reached his ears despite the endless void that had him engulfed.

_I know this song... this melody... It is just like old times... _

It sounded to him like the lullaby his mother used to sing to him when he was little. Whenever he was scared or paranoid she would sing this song to him and he would feel safe and loved. Could it be that he was back with his mom? Could it be that he was dead and finally together with her once more?

"...Mom...?" he whispered weakly as he turned his head towards the sound of the lullaby. He did not open his eyes though and his movement was sluggish and slow.

"Huh?" she replied shocked and stopped humming. She whirled around and smiled at Chris as she noticed that he was indeed awake.

"Sorry sweetheart. I am Stacy," she said to him in a soothing and sweet voice not once betraying her evil intention.

Chris heard her foreign voice and could not place her. She was certainly not his mother.

_Where am I? Who is this Stacy-woman? I could swear that I heard that name before..._

"—Oh—" Chris could not come up with a decent reply.

"Do you like this melody?" Stacy asked him trying to sound nice. She knew instantly that he had only awakened because this melody had stirred something in his memory. Maybe she could use this knowledge against him.

Chris still had not looked at her but he was already suspicious of her. Something about her set him on edge.

_What are you planning?_

"...hmmm...," Chris agreed and opened first one eye and then the other. The light was hurting his eyes and set off a dull ache in his head but he was glad that he could see anything at all.

"Hey listen. I need to do a few tests on you...," she informed him.

Chris could not help himself. As soon as he heard the word "tests" he knew he was in serious trouble. No nurse so far had talked to him like that. Her strange accent set off all alarm bells and he flinched back despite himself.

As she got nearer – probably to calm him down by placing a hand on his shoulder – he tried to back away. He concentrated hard and felt for his legs. They were throbbing with a dull ache but he ignored it. He focused on his feet and tried to bend them to push him away from the bed.

As soon as his left foot moved the tiniest bit it sent off an agonizing hot surge that spread through his body. It rushed upwards to his chest warming him from the inside in lightning speed. It continued on and on. It reached his heart and set it afire. It felt like someone was trying to squeeze it till it would burst.

The pain did not stop there. The agonizing hot surge spread and passed his throat. He could not swallow or breathe for he had to bite down on his tongue to keep from screaming. The surge reached his head.

The dull headache from before was soon forgotten as the surge ignited a new flame that threatened to explode inside his head and thereby kill him instantly. His head throbbed but not as much as his left foot did.

Trying to escape the pain he put his foot back to the starting position hoping all would just stop. Yet the new movement emitted a new wave of pain throughout his entire body. It was not less intense than the first one and completely took him under.

He had to escape this. He had to flee from his current captor and the pain. He tried to concentrate despite the pain he was in. He screwed his eyes shut and bit down harder on his tongue. He swore he could taste blood.

He called forth his inner power. He knew it should have been there. The familiar feeling of magic. He wanted to orb so badly that he completely freaked when he felt the lack of his most precious possession. He felt naked and exposed all at once.

_I cannot orb... ! ... What am I supposed to do?_

"Easy kiddo! Your leg needs attention!" Stacy scolded him and thought, _"Poor guy. He seems to be very afraid of people."_

If he could have he would have huffed but he was desperate. He could not escape her and his inner sense told him that she was far more and far worse than a regular nurse.

_My leg? Are you kidding? I need to get away from here!_

"So let's talk...," she began the conversation and tried to lighten the mood of her patient.

Chris knew a thousand things he could do better right now. He knew he should not answer any of her questions for she would probably know the answers already.

_No..._

"What is your name?" she asked him sweetly as she stood next to him. She watched as his eyes opened again and focused on her. Although they were clouded with pain he gave nothing away. She knew he was careful and suspicious but he did not express it with his eyes. No, he was in full control of his emotions. Which was odd given the pain and poison but she would get a reaction from him – one way or another.

She knew how she would get a response. Chris´ eyes followed her head like a predator would. She knew that this kid was experienced with her kind and tactics. He would not break easily. Yet she also knew that he could not be inhuman. He would respond. She stopped suddenly and his eyes narrowed ever so slightly, the movement easy to miss but she had waited for it. She saw his mistrust clearly in his eyes and she was about to give him good reason for it.

She smiled a smile which was neither sincere nor real. She stroked along his left leg and voluntarily added a little more pressure than strictly necessary when someone would examine a bone that was clearly broken.

She watched in satisfaction as he responded by hissing in pain. He did not glare at her. Instead his gaze on her face never wavered. He gave her no indication that he knew that she had done this deliberately.

She immediately put her hand back as if she were just a clumsy nurse and apologized quickly with a simple, "Sorry."

Chris refrained from rolling his eyes only barely. She was testing him and he tried his best not to fail this test. Yet at the same time he knew that she probably already knew. And she seemed to enjoy it for she had not already killed him. A little torture was nothing new to him.

_Of course you are sorry! What did he say to you that you take care of me?_

"Please talk to me," she asked him again as she let her fingers travel down his shoulder in a very intimate gesture.

Chris sighed. She was attractive but he had a fiancée. She would not get him this way.

"Okay, then I'll tell you what we do to you," she informed him as her hand returned to his chest and her flat hand rested atop his heart.

He swore she could have felt it miss a beat but he only muttered a confused "Huh?!"

_Damn it! She is a demon! I knew it!_

"Well, we fix your leg. We put a cast over it. But not a normal one it's more like a splint. Second we fix your index finger. Pretty nasty break you have. Then we treat your wounds and scratches. But I am still worrying about that head wound of yours...," she trailed off as she watched him closely. He gave no indication that any of that was bothering him.

She continued listing his injuries as Chris thought, _Okay she is an annoying nurse... But in my world there is no nurse anymore... That would mean..._

"Special treatment," she finished and gave him a wink.

He had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he had forgotten to follow her remarks.

_What?_

"Hey kiddo. Do you mind answering me?" Stacy asked him as she rubbed her knuckles seductively on his chest.

_What did she just say?_

"Well... I am waiting...," she reminded him as she licked her fingers on the other hand. Then she put them out of her mouth and ran them seductively down his cheek. Chris shuddered at the contact.

_Sorry but I did not listen..._

"It's okay if you are too afraid to talk about it," she whispered into his ear as her hot breath hit his face and her breasts hang dangerously close to his chin.

_It? About what?_

"It's never easy," she leaned back and her right index finger ran from his ear down his chin towards his clavicle.

_Hello? What are you talking about?! And would you just stop touching me?!_

"My neighbor's kids had to endure the same. Well not as much as you but still too much," she told him as she carefully poked his ribs.

_What are you talking about? What do you mean?_

"It's never easy for a kid to talk bad about their parents," she returned her hand to her chest and looked honestly concerned down at him.

_My parents? My mom is dead and my dad – I doubt I ever had one..._

"We called the agency. They should be coming over here very soon. Well, no, they still have to talk to your mother," she informed him as she watched him, "It seems like she sexually abused you."

_Agency? My mother? Abuse? Sexual abuse? _Chris could not believe this.

"You know your dad kinda disappeared as the security guards held him but I am sure he will come back – no need to worry," she told him and added, "He needs to know what his wife does to his son when he is not there."

_Dad? – Leo? Disappeared? Laugh... He does that often..._

"Do you have any other relatives that we could call?" Stacy asked him sounding completely concerned now.

_Why is mom not here with me?_

"Yeah, you see it is my duty to protect you. Therefore your mom cannot come in here as long as it is not proven that she is innocent," she informed him, "But from what I just witnessed by my little demonstration I gather she is guilty.

_What? She is talking such strange things... Wait! Where's my bro?_

"Hmmm... You still did not tell me your name," she reminded him as she held her hand to her chin as if she were deep in thought.

"I...," he tried to answer but his throat hurt as it was dry as the desert, "It's Chris," he continued as she smiled at him warmly. "Where's my bro?"

"You have siblings? Oh my goodness! How old is he?" Stacy exclaimed shocked.

"Where is he? Is he here, too?" Chris croaked out.

"No, sorry. But it is better this way. You do not look too good. No offense," she told him as she looked down at him as if she felt truly sorry.

"I need to find him," Chris insisted more firmly now. He tried to bring his hands under his torso to push himself into a sitting position. So far moving his feet had done nothing but provide pain for him. As he put pressure on his hands, however, he knew immediately that his right hand was also an endless source of agonizing pain.

It felt as if something just gave way as he planted his right hand flat on the mattress, it gave a soft and barely audible crack but the pain that followed was no less intense than the pain from before. He knew that it was clearly broken and somewhere in the back of his mind he seemed to remember when. Yet, he did not have time to think about that now.

He suppressed a hiss of pain and quickly lessened the strain from his hands, let his torso fall back on the mattress and simply panted through the immense pain willing it away.

"No, you don't!" She replied shocked as she saw how Chris tried to get up. "Do not make me call security!"

She pushed her hands on his shoulders and applied pressure on them. She tried to remind him that he had to stay down but Chris barely felt her hands on him. Every neuron was in overdrive and sending waves of pain to every distant part of his body.

He never knew that a small fracture on his wrist could hurt more like burning alive. And believe him, he knew how that felt. He vaguely thought it could depend on the poison he was exposed to but he had bigger problems at hand right now.

"I am fine! And you cannot stop me!" Chris pressed out through tightly compressed lips. He failed miserably at trying to conceal his extreme discomfort.

"Did they do it this often?" Stacey asked him as she watched in satisfaction how he suffered. She was really glad that he was already this beaten up. She had no intention to explain to the staff how he ended up broken and bloody if she had yet to do it. Yet, another part of her wanted to hurt him, wanted to see him suffer.

"Huh?" _What is she talking about? _Through the cloud of pain that threatened to suffocate him he registered Stacey´s words. If he had been healthier he would have killed her for her accusations. No one would insult his mother and live to tell about it. He knew he was far too weak to really take her on and especially now that he had to concentrate hard to keep the pain at bay. He breathed in and out deeply trying to ride through the pain.

"I mean the beating...," Stacey clarified and watched him closely. She knew that her words were upsetting him and she was disappointed that he had yet to make a move. She was sure that he already knew that she was demon. She had to be careful; she could not allow herself to screw up.

_No way! She thinks that mom did this to me! Sigh... People... Mom would never do that! Leo and Wyatt sure, but mom? No way! And now she is in trouble because of it. Great! Just great!_

"You do not need to answer this question," Stacey tried to calm him down and added, "but you need to stay in bed! You are very sick, young man!"

She leaned over him and urged him to lie down again. She gently touched his shoulders and gave them a slight push. Chris sighed and let himself be pushed back to the bed.

Chris returned to his inner world and tried to make sense of what had happened and what could happen next.

_I know what happened. _

_How could I forget?_

_The words "you are very sick young man" - they're mom's. She probably worries so much that she is freaking out..._

_No, not mom but Piper... I am in the past... _

_How could I forget?_

_I really thought for one moment that I was still in the future. That she was alive. How stupid am I? She is dead and she will stay that way for the rest of my life..._

_But I am back there... Back where everything will turn into hell, too. The future is doomed if I fail my mission. I have to succeed. I cannot back down or give up. I have to figure this out._

_How's Wyatt? Nobody seems to have seen him... Is he alright?_

_And where's Piper? She seemed to be in trouble because of me... How will she explain this disaster? I am in a hospital. I feel like I was a punching bag. How can someone explain these kinds of injuries as accident? How did I end up here anyway?_

"_Your father disappeared" – Where is Leo? Did something happen to him while I was out of it? It´s not that I really care... Normally I would be grateful that he is gone but in the past I still need him. Where is he?_

_And where are my aunts? Why are they not here? Can they help Piper? What happened to them? Do they know about my predicament?_

_What happened in the meanwhile? What did I do? Did I jeopardize everything? Did I mess up or do I still have the chance to make a difference?_

_I need answers! _

_And I need to know why I forgot those important things!_

* * *

"Excuse me?!" Piper Halliwell glared at the nurse who dared command her around. She was fed up and almost done with these people. She just wanted to go and see Chris already! Why would nobody let her see Chris?!

"I am afraid, Mrs. Halliwell," the nurse said in an icy tone that had no trace of sympathy. "But you have to go with those people."

"I don't! I want to see my son!" Piper stood her ground and glared at the nurse. Her glare intensified tenfold but the nurse was unfazed.

"Sorry Miss but those are the rules here," the nurse pressed out between clenched teeth. She hated her job and today she was reminded of that fact.

"Great rules you have. Keeping parents away from their children...," Piper muttered and walked over to the said people. She did not back down, she would not. She shot a death glare towards the nurse and then towards the two people who stood in front of her.

For a moment she said nothing. She simply looked them up and down. She tried to figure out who they were and what they had planned. The man looked to be in mid forties; he had gray hair and wore glasses. He wore a white coat and looked like a doctor.

The woman was slender and looked pretty. She had brown hair that reached her shoulders. She wore female suit and high heels.

The man and the woman looked at Piper with a strange and somewhat judging look.

"Hello," Piper broke through the silence and tried her very best to keep the venom out of her voice. She had to make this quick. Who knew what had happened to Chris in the meanwhile. She was dying to know how he was. "My name is Piper Halliwell."

"Hello Mrs. Halliwell, I am doctor Thompson," the man introduced himself. He did not extend his hand towards her and Piper´s eyes narrowed slightly. Doctor Thompson gestured to his site and introduced the woman next to him. "This is Mrs. Ghid."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Ghid," Piper replied and watched both of them closely and with growing distrust.

"Yeah we'll see about that," was the rude answer Piper got of the woman who could not have been older than twenty.

"Let's get in that room. I have to ask you some questions," Mrs. Ghid spat out as if she had already made up her mind about whatever it was she needed information about.

"Sure," Piper muttered and followed them inside. The sooner she got this over with the sooner she would be reunited with her son. At least that was her part of the logic.

* * *

"Okay I've got fifteen demons and you?" Phoebe shouted over the noise as she had a second to catch her breath. She was standing on the side walk and had her hands on her thighs. She tried to breathe in and out slowly.

"Oh Phoebe! I've got at least twenty!" Paige replied as she ran up behind a demon. The energy ball that was intended for her was hot on her heels. She quickly dodged out of its way and the energy ball collided with the demon, thereby vanquishing it effectively. She whirled around to look at Phoebe and to confirm that her sister was still in one piece.

"Well ...," Phoebe shouted back and tried to come up with a decent reply that would make her braver and tougher than Paige.

"Ahhh!" Wyatt shouted suddenly. Phoebe and Paige had fought long enough now to know that when Wyatt screamed they had to duck or jump out of the way. Phoebe dove behind a dumpster and successfully avoided an energy ball.

Paige jumped to the side and the energy ball missed her only barely. "Seriously, what the hell?" She cursed as she got back to her feet.

"If we do not hurry then I see black!" Phoebe shouted frantically as Paige ran for cover as another supernatural ball tried to kill her.

"But how? We can't orb!" Paige shouted back as she was on the run again. There simply seemed to be no end to the demons and attacks.

"Cwis!" Wyatt cried as he sat behind a dumpster and tried to stay out of harm's way.

"Yeah, we want to go see Chris, too," Phoebe said and looked around worriedly. There had to be an escape. They could not die here!

"Apparently the car is broken...," Paige reminded her sister as she ran past her as she was sidestepping more attacks.

"Then let's walk," Phoebe shouted at her, "Anything is better than staying here and getting grilled!" She jumped to her feet, jumped out of the way as an athame flew past her head and ran towards Wyatt.

"Okay," Paige agreed and turned on her heels. She took after Phoebe.

"Come on Wyatt! We need to walk because the car is broken and there is no orbing. But we need to be careful with all those demons being after us," Phoebe informed her nephew as she reached him. She held out her hands and the toddler immediately all but jumped into them.

"Mewe?" Wyatt asked her as he pointed towards his chest worriedly.

"We don't know for sure if they are after you," Paige told him as she came up next to Phoebe and saw Wyatt´s gesture.

"Do not worry about that, Wyatt! Think about Chris and how happy he will be when you come and visit him!" Phoebe tried to soothe the boy as she clutched him to her chest and ran after Paige who had continued on.

"Cwis?" he replied in his baby tongue and looked up at Phoebe with big watery eyes. Phoebe was overwhelmed with his worry and sadness for a moment and she cursed that this sweet little angel had to be born into this family. Then again, Wyatt was twice-blessed and her nephew he would learn to live with it. He had to.

"Here is your toy car sweetie," Phoebe whispered comfortingly to him and handed the toy over to him.

Wyatt was happy as he saw his beloved toy car the one Chris had gotten for him. He was not sure if his mommy knew that but it was one of his most precious belongings.

"Cwis," Wyatt confirmed and even smiled a little as he clutched the toy to his heart.

"He surely can't wait to see you," Paige said in a happy voice trying to lighten the mood, "Soon we all will see him, promise!"

"_And this kid just vanquished lots of demons... Strange..." _Phoebe thought as she watched her sweet innocent little nephew cuddle a toy car. Her nephew who had moments ago just been the deadliest Halliwell she had ever seen.

"Let's go!" Paige announced and sped up.

Phoebe followed as all three of them took off to the hospital in a mad rush.

* * *

"Damn those witches!" Jo cursed as he saw that they could get away alive. His plan was ruined, again!

"But Jo – they are the Charmed Ones and he is the twice blessed child." His companion reminded him.

"I know, I know! But they should have been busy longer!" Jo was seething with anger, "Just inform your companion at the hospital."

"Doesn't work, he was sent home," the companion informed Jo and feared the reply, "Well we could interfere more!"

"Okay Dana, you're right. We let the whole family suffer!" Jo smirked again. He would get his revenge on this freaking Matt aka Chris Halliwell. He would, eventually!

"That is the right mood Jo! Let's go!" Dana agreed.

And then they shimmered to the hospital leaving the sisters and Wyatt to their fate.

* * *

"That is a good boy!" Stacy praised him and patted him on the arm as he was successfully lying on the mattress. The look he shot her could have killed her and it told her "Don't-touch-me-again".

"Do you know Jo?" Chris asked her out of the blue as he scrutinized her. He tried to turn on his side to able to see her better. But his injuries prevented him from doing so.

"Which Jo?" she asked back as she tended to his IVs. She kept her back to him and hoped that he had not caught her stiffen slightly.

"What do you mean?" he asked her uncertainly. He had not expected her to say that. What could she possibly mean by that? Were there more Jos?

Chris watched her intensely as he tried to come up with a reply that would give nothing away but at the same time answer his initial question. He saw her pulling out a syringe of her pocket and a new feeling of dread overcame him. He had to get away.

"Well, Jo as in Josef or in John or in Josephine?" she asked him as if she did not know to which Jo he was referring to. Yet, her words had shaken Chris. What if there were really more Jos? How should he know which one was responsible or if that demon was really called Jo?

Stacey produced a small vial out of nowhere and began to draw up the content into the syringe. Chris knew from bad experience that unannounced syringes never meant something good. If only he could escape, if only he could use his powers. If only he could do freakin´ something. This was so not good!

"You are not going to sedate me, are you?" he asked her seriously and with a cold voice. He tried to push himself up on his elbows but failed miserably. The pain seemed to be everywhere.

_I've seen enough to know when people are not who they seem or pretend to be..._

"No, why should I?" She answered in her sweetest voice, turned around and looked at him. She wore an expression that did not give away her deadly intent. But she could fool Chris no longer. He had seen through her. His threat detecting sixth sense had raised alarm from the very beginning. The cause could have been either the hospital itself or the demonic nurse. But Chris was sure now; this woman was a demon in disguise.

"Just a question... What is in that?" Chris tried to play along and eyed the syringe suspiciously.

"This? This is um...," she tried to come up with an explanation and looked at him. She decided that enough was enough. The boy had to die. He was easy prey she could do it. She suspected that he already knew but in his current predicament he could not put up much of a fight. It would be easier to just empty the content of the syringe into his blood stream at once. She stepped forward and tried to pierce the IV line that was connected to the boy´s left hand.

_I knew... I just knew it... you lazy and crazy demon! You picked the wrong victim!_

Chris waited for the right moment. Just one more step from Stacey, one more move of her hand. It was nearing his IV line and his eyes followed her every movement. He kept an eye on her hand and at the same time prepared for any other move of her.

As he was sure that all she intended was to inject him with something he saw his chance. No way was he going to get killed while lying idly around as some sort of silent bystander. No, he would go down fighting. He would live or die trying to do so.

He closed his eyes. Stacey saw that as his acceptance of his inevitable fate. Yet, Chris searched for his inner peace - the place deep within him, where it was always warm and welcoming. He sought out his source of magical power. He slowed his breathing. He concentrated on finding the tiny bit of power that was left and that he knew had to be there. All he needed was a quick distraction to gain the upper hand again.

He had done it so often in the past that he was not surprised when the familiar warm glow reached his senses. He had found the puddle. His mind embraced the flow of power. His beaten body seemed to sigh with relief as the magic took over completely chasing away the pain and fatigue for a moment. It was all Chris needed; it was all Chris had sought.

He let the magic flow through him and felt in satisfaction as his whole body dissolved in blue orbs. The familiar feeling of control and power left him feeling exhilarated. He could do it. He could get away. He would live to see another day.

He disappeared shortly before the syringe´s content could enter his blood stream.

Stacey hissed in anger but quickly smiled again as she saw him reappearing next to the bed on the ground. He might have gotten away this time but he could not win. Jo had assured her that the Halliwell boy would not be much of a problem. He was just too weak. Sure, his sudden orbing had rattled her confidence somewhat but the boy was still in this room, with her. She still had a chance to kill him.

Yet, Chris was not sitting idly on the ground and letting her do her job. This stupid boy gripped his IV lines and yanked at them. They came loosed with a wet pop and slid to the ground. He ripped apart the rest of the wires that were still attached to him and quickly scanned the room.

"Damn it boy! You could have died a peaceful death!" she cursed him and walked over to him. "Now I need to use violence!" She closed the distance to him and inched closer.

"So you were going to kill me? Great!" he replied and scowled at her.

"It is my duty! I have to do what they say to me," she defended her actions and produced an athame out of thin air.

"They? Funny. Very funny," Chris retorted and began to feel the pain once more. He had to get away soon or he would probably pass out. He could not afford this. He had to get rid of her first.

"Yeah is that so? Now let's get this over with and do not even think about orbing away. It is no use. You cannot leave this hospital!" Stacey threatened him and pressed the blade against his throat.

Chris did not move a muscle nor did he dare swallow. He stared into her eyes.

"Yeah, I've already noticed that!" he told her defiantly, "But hey before I die you could answer me a question or two."

He stared her down and she admired his strength given his situation. This boy had seen and endured far worse than this. She considered his request for a moment and then barked, "What?"

"Well, what has Jo planned?" Chris replied after a second. He had to be careful the blade at his throat reminded him of who was in charge here. Yet, he would not be Chris if he did not grasp the chance to gain information from a demon. Even if said demon was currently in the position to end him in a matter of seconds.

Chris gulped barely visibly but Stacey took it for his apparent fear that he could barely contain in her eyes. She felt safe and was sure that she would succeed.

"He wanted to use you," she answered and smirked at him. She would enjoy this moment for her remaining life and tried to savor every moment of it.

"To get to Wyatt?" Chris completed for her to try to keep her talking. He was not sure how he knew it.

"Yeah," she confirmed and smirked wider. She was clearly enjoying this far too much for Chris´ liking. But he was sure that he would live another day. He was not so sure about her though.

"Why?" he asked her.

"Because you're weak and were perfect as a target to weaken the Charmed Ones! Without a healer they would have been weaker!" Stacey proudly announced, "With you gone, they are easy prey! And so will be that little bastard!"

"Sorry to tell you but your assumptions are ridiculous!" Chris told her quietly. He could not believe this. How had he gotten into this mess? The only thing he wanted was a brother that did not turn evil. If the world ended or if his mother was still alive then so be it but first and foremost Chris wanted to save his brother. Why were they using him to get to Wyatt? What did they know? How much did they know already? Nothing was going to be the same again.

"Yeah I know," she told him triumphantly as she saw realization dawn in on him, "You are a boy of the Charmed Ones."

She smiled her first real smile as she watched his gaze widen ever so slightly. She thought she had him. He was sure of it.

_I did not mean that. But they had no healer for a long, long time now..._

Nothing was going to be the same again. He was known in the underworld. He had to be more careful from now on. He would have a harder time getting the information he needed while at the same time trying not to get caught as leverage against the Charmed Ones.

"Ready to die?" Stacey cut through his chain of thoughts. And she pressed the blade harder against his throat. He felt blood oozing out of the wound.

"Not yet," Chris tried to stall. He had to think of a way out. They were in a hospital. He was one of the Charmed Ones, a stranger from the future without I.D.. She was a female demon working undercover in a hospital. She was probably last seen with him. If he ended up dead all tracks would lead to her. And she could not expose magic, not in a place like this.

"Huh?" Stacey narrowed her eyes and drew up more blood.

"I mean," Chris explained as he came up with a plan, "how are you going to explain this?" His eyes roamed through the room and then down his body. At last they came up to meet hers.

"What?" she hissed not understanding where his words were taking her.

"Died because of poison?" Chris suggested and then shrugged. He just freakin´ shrugged and it burned like hellfire. He had to keep in the game if he wanted to survive. He waited for her reaction.

"Well, your mother will second that thought," Stacey spit out after a couple of seconds in which she seriously considered his input. "Or it was suicide because of parental abuse. Who knows and who cares!"

She leaned forward but stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Chris´ glare darken. His pupils lost their color and almost got black with anger. When he spoke up there was ice cold venom in his voice that showed no mercy at all.

"You did what? You told them that I was _abused_?"

"You _are_ abused!" she insisted as she shoved the blade a tiny bit forward and gestured with her other hand down his body. "I mean, have you looked at yourself lately?"

"Yeah, but that's from where I come from!" Chris shot back clearly furious now. "This Piper has _nothing_ to do with it! I was _not _abused!"

Chris leaned forward and purposely let the blade cut deeper. He needed this new pain. It helped him ignore the other pain and reminded him that he had to kill Stacey no matter what.

"Too bad you cannot tell them your version of this!" Stacey slowly recovered from her initial shock of seeing his eyes. She withdrew the blade ever so slightly. She could not kill him yet, he had yet again shaken her confidence and she would make sure he suffered before he would die.

"We'll see about that!" Chris spit and leaned forward. The blade released more blood. He could feel it drip down his larynx. It felt oddly warm and wet. He concentrated on his fury again Stacey and tried to shake the sudden image of his body getting kicked out of his mind.

"Wanna bet that you can kill me instead?" Stacey provoked him and withdrew the blade an inch. "I´ll even give you a chance."

"No, but I can stay alive long enough for them to come here," Chris promised her and the corner of his mouth turned upward. "Try to kill me, _bitch_."

"Sorry to bring bad news," her eyes narrowed at the insult but she decided that words were hurting him more than the blade or any kick she could deliver before his slipped into unconsciousness.

"But your mother is busy with the guys that help kids. Your dad is up there to be healed." As she said the words 'up there' she gestured with her free hand and her smirk was back. She looked down on him and delivered the rest of the news. "Your aunts are fighting a lost battle and your brother turns in the very _monster_ you fear right now."

"Really?" Chris answered her, "And why should I believe you?" He was not giving her the satisfaction that this bit of news unsettled him. He had not known that his whole family was already involved.

"Because you were unconscious for over an hour and there is still no family member here. Even with the worst traffic they should have been here by now. All of them." She pressed the blade closer to his throat again and watched in satisfaction as he remained silent for once.

"Hmmm...," he replied barely audible. _I hope she is not right..._

"_He is speechless... good I destroyed his hope! Now it's time to finish him off."_

Chris watched as Stacy clenched her fist around the handle of the blade. Her eyes narrowed, her face took on a concentrated look and yet she had the nerve to smile. Chris knew she was about to land the final blow.

_I need to help Phoebe, Paige and ... WYATT! …_

* * *

"Where is he?" a man in golden robes asked his companion.

"He is with the healers," was the reply.

"Are you sure he will be healed?" the man asked concerned.

"It is a very strong poison but I am sure that Leo can be healed," the other elder tried to console.

"He was so rude and violent. Why would a demon want to make an elder like this?" the younger one asked.

"I don't know but I hope that Leo did not cause too much trouble on earth," the other sighed.

"Yeah me, too," he agreed.

Those two elders watched as Leo lay sleeping on a bed while an IV gave him the antidote.

"I really hope so," the elder repeated.

Tbc...

Sorry folks. But I had a rough week. Sorry for the delay.

I really hope you are still reading this. And for the person that will appear. It is in the next update okay?

Thanks for your understanding!

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	17. Help is needed!

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 17: Help is needed!**

**A/N: Please keep in mind that in this chapter there will be a very bad spell. I hope that it can be accepted as a spell. And the person you all awaited appears later on. **

**But most important! This chapter has a lot of dark thoughts and violence in it! Be careful!**

It took them an amazing long time to reach their destination. They had started running what felt like hours ago.

They were busy all the way along. There was seemingly no end to the attacks. Their pursuers were merciless but thankfully also very bad shooters.

They took a lot of hits and suffered several injuries but they did not care.

Not that it mattered anyway. Not to them, not today. They had more important matters at hand.

Every time they thought they had some time off or some time to catch their breath more of them would come, take aim and shoot.

It was hopeless. It seemed utterly hopeless. But they would not give up this easily. So far they were not dead. This had to count for something, right?

Either they would reach their goal or die trying.

They were all tired and angry. They were hurt, exhausted and on the brink of unconsciousness but they kept on. They had to reach their destination. They just had to.

Someone wanted to keep them away.

And he was doing a great job. He had slowed them down tremendously, had almost exhausted them. Yet he had not killed them, _yet_.

Not only little Wyatt was pissed off; even his aunts killed the demons rather than simply ran. It did not matter. For ever demon they killed two more appeared. For every energy ball they dodged three more would fly past them. For every athame, blade or dagger they escaped several more would aim for them.

They liked the look of angst in the demons eyes whenever possible and also the scent of blood whenever they killed. It did not matter to them anymore that there was no end to this fight. Yes, they even seemed to enjoy this now. They had stopped running some time ago. They were facing their attackers now. They were fighting.

It was as if this whole attacking was meant to make them so angry that they would turn into killers. Cold-hearted, bloody killers. They seemed to become the very things they were currently killing. Yet, they did not care. It did not matter. Those were demons, those were the bad guys. They were the good ones. Good ones kill bad ones it was as easy as that. At least for them.

It did not take long for little Wyatt to use his powers in the most terrible ways possible. He killed those who came too near within seconds just with a blink of his eyes. But slowly and painfully. If Chris witnessed this he would surely fear to have failed already. This little child was as merciless as his adult counterpart.

The ones that were further away he would blow up. Limp for limp. Slowly, ever so slowly. With such a cruelty that made everyone shudder in fright and disgust. He was almost evil in person.

But his aunts did not seem to notice. They let him have his way. They did not care. There were more important matters anyway.

And they did it the same way. They took pleasure in the pain they were inflicting. Every drop of blood, every scream of pain stirred something inside of them that left them feel good, so _good_.

Paige discovered a new way of orbing power as she orbed some parts of the demon bodies away. Somewhere in the middle of the fight she had regained her powers without even noticing it. Yet, instead of using it to _escape_, she used it to _torture_. And she felt good at doing it. She did not even think about how she became the very thing she was currently ripping apart.

Phoebe, however, used her kicks to hurt the demons in the most painful sections of the body. She levitated, kicked out her legs, and used her fists. She ripped open her knuckles but she was only satisfied when she felt and saw blood flowing or heard screams of pain. She enjoyed her dirty work.

It seemed as if all three of them were turning evil. And worst they seemed to enjoy the killing most of all.

And Jo looked from a nearby street at the scene and smiled proudly. "_At least this part of the plan works."_

"Yeah the fun began!" he exclaimed happily and watched excited just as a young child would when someone was opening a present in front of it. He enjoyed the scene in front of him very much.

* * *

"Okay now where were we?" Mrs. Ghid asked for the second time. She was getting uglier with every second she was still breathing. Piper was coming close to blowing her up. If she were a demon, a witch, a seer or anything supernatural she would be dead already. But unfortunately for Piper she was just some stupid woman who wanted to confirm what she had already made up her mind about. What exactly it was Piper did not know nor did she care.

She had still not seen her son. Chris was somewhere in this God forsaken hospital, alone, hurt, probably desperate and so utterly _alone_. Piper could not bear the thought of her son being anywhere alone in his current state. She feared that she would never be able to bear that thought again. Yet, she still had to get to him first even if she could not kill Mrs. Whatever. Piper had not even memorized the name.

"Do you know any kind of childhood disease of your son Mrs. Halliwell? Any allergies?" Mrs. Ghid inquired in a monotone voice not even looking up at Piper as she scribbled something down on her notepad.

"I...," Piper opened her mouth to say "Screw you" but thought better of it before she got into any real trouble. Yet, her silence was answer enough for the eager woman.

"So you don't. Does not surprise me. Your son does not have a medical file in any hospital in this city. This is why?" Mrs. Ghid inquired and looked up shortly to shoot Piper a death glare.

"Well...," Piper began and tried to come up with the reason why her son from the freakin´ future who had not even been freakin´ born yet had no medical record whatsoever. How could a non supernatural being ever understand this?

"Oh yeah, I forgot you needed to keep it a secret. I mean what you were doing to him. Pardon. What you and your husband _are_ doing to him," Mrs. Ghid summarized. She did not see reason; she did not need to hear any excuses. In her eyes this case was solved. She just had to sign the papers and then inform the poor boy.

"Hello? I...," Piper cut in. She could not believe what she had just heard. Did this woman really mean what she just implied? Leo and her _were abusing_ Chris?

With a pang in her heart she knew it was partly true. They had been using him, sometimes even neglecting him, and hurting him. Throwing him out of the house. She knew that it was not child abuse or anything like that but it had been like abuse. Piper gulped down. Did this woman have a point? How did she know? What would she do?

"Oh you cannot argue with me on that. I saw the boy. Would not surprise me if he ends his sorry life," Mrs. Ghid told her angrily. She looked at Piper and dared her to say anything.

"Excuse me?" Piper asked getting angry herself. What did she imply this time? Was Chris trying to commit suicide? This woman did not know the first thing about her son!

"Yes, it is proven that you abuse your boy!" Mrs. Ghid accused her. She stared hard at Piper and looked for any sign of capitulation.

"I what?!" Piper almost shrieked. This was beginning to get out of hand. What were they thinking? Chris was an adult for God´s sake! She did not abuse him physically! She never had! His injuries were from the future and his little baby self had to be born. When he was born he would be loved just as much as Wyatt. What was wrong with this woman?

"Well, for starters you did not take him to any kind of doctor in his whole life. You do not know any personal details about him or what he likes. AND he hates his dad more than anything...," Mrs. Ghid recites her list of evidence as if she were talking to a stubborn child.

Piper listened to her. She knew that Chris had no medical record with being from the future and all. She knew that she did not know him at all because he was secretive and neurotic. And because she had not known about his true identity yesterday! Piper could not help herself, she had heard enough. No one was going to take Chris away again. Bo one was going to separate them because of something as stupid as that!

Piper could not help herself and simply whistled to get Mrs. Ghid´s attention.

As soon as Mrs. Whatever had stopped her stupid list of evidence and diverted her attention to her, Piper growled, "_Now_ you are going to listen to _me _for once!"

"Yes?" Mrs. Ghid replied unaffected.

"I only agree that he does not like his dad much but he does not _hate_ him!" Piper informed her with a raising voice. She could barely keep it together. Yes, Chris hated Leo for whatever reason but it was nothing that could not be handled. Those two belonged to her and she would personally see to that matter. This Mrs. Whatever had no say in that.

"But he kept saying no when he got help from the nurses," Mrs. Ghid countered.

"Maybe he had a nightmare or was just confused or what do I know!" Piper exclaimed frustrated. When was she going to see Chris? Where was he anyway? And how was he?

"Exactly my point!" Mrs. Ghid cut in angrily, "You do not know your own son!"

Piper knew it was true. She knew nothing about him. The only things she really knew was that he was called Chris and that he was a whitelighter. Recently she discovered that he was also her son from the future who thereby was part witch, too. And she knew that he loved Wyatt more than himself for he kept getting in harm´s way to save him. In Piper´s mind this was enough for her to love him. But she knew that she did not know him.

"He is not my son!" Piper whispered as her chain of thoughts crossed this particular aspect. And as soon as Piper said those words her heart ached.

"What?!" She had not even noticed that she had said it loud enough for Mrs. Ghid to understand and was pulled back into reality by her rude question.

Piper tried to think of an explanation that did not involve the word "future". She was thinking hard and had to come up with something quickly for Mrs. Ghid scrutinized her.

"He...," Piper began and gulped down. It was now or never. "I mean he is adopted... - Of course he is my son but he is not my corporal son. I am his foster mother."

Piper closed her eyes and looked down. She hoped that she had done the right thing and wished for nothing more than Leo´s presence. He would have known what to do. He would have handled the situation with being an elder and all.

"_Please forgive me Chris but this lady is somewhat right – I really do not know much about you..."_

Mrs. Ghid looked at Piper blankly. Her mouth was hanging open.

Score one for Piper.

* * *

"Okay, just one more hour and he should be as fit as a fiddle and most important he should be his old self!" The elder sighed with relief.

"Thank God that Leo survived this without doing too much damage," the other elder agreed.

"He will not like the fact that we kept him apart from his family," the first elder sighed again this time not with relief.

"Maybe he will thank us when he knows what he could have done to them," the other elder tried to defend their actions.

"I sense a lot of negative energy on earth," the elder murmured with concern.

"What do you mean?" the other elder inquired.

"I think something bad is going to happen," the first elder predicated in a bad mood.

"Do you think it's them?" the other asked having picked up on the subject after a second.

"Who knows... maybe...," the first one trailed off.

Leo lay all the while heavily drugged on the ground. He did not know about any of the troubles his family went through at the moment. He was sleeping off the effects of whatever it was that had poisoned him.

The other elders looked worriedly at each other.

"What shall we do...?" the other elder sought advice.

But they knew no answer for once...

* * *

He felt it.

It was just a small prick, a small invasion into his skin. It did not even hurt that much. The first contact never hurt much, it was the content that caused pain and he knew it. He had tried to avoid the inevitable for as long as he had been able to.

For as much effort as he had put into it he had failed, miserably and humiliating. It had taken only one freakin´ female demon to finish him off.

The last ten minutes had been for nothing. After he had gained as much information as he could he had searched for his inner power again. Honestly he was as surprised as her as he had found it.

He had let the power surge flow trough him, envelop and embrace him. He had dissolved into blue orbs for at least a hundred times. He could not leave this stupid room.

Whenever he orbed he would reappear somewhere in this room. It was jinxed. There was simply no escape.

He had tried to concentrate again. He had tried very hard to access a different kind of magical power. He should have been able to find one. He had enough of them after all but something prevented this.

He could not find even one other damn power. He was useless, he was defenseless, and he was just screwed. He would indeed die in here. He saw it in Stacey´s smug smirk whenever he rematerialized in this freakin´ room.

He could feel it then. How his last straw at escape slowly left him. Whenever he searched for his inner light it was glowing fainter and fainter. At last it was so small that it was just enough to let him orb one last time.

And while cursing his luck he reappeared in the exact same spot they had had the discussion earlier. He was done. He could do nothing more. He did not find his power source anymore, not that it would help him anyway.

He resisted sighing in defeat or letting Stacey enjoy her victory. He stared at her defiantly all the while knowing very well that it would not change a freakin´ thing. He was just screwed.

Stacey had even the nerve to smirk down at him but at least she spared him any comment. She uncapped the front of the syringe with her teeth. Somewhere during their cat and mouse chase she had put it on to prevent the liquid from spilling out.

Now she was hovering over him.

He was on his bottom, sitting rather awkwardly upright. He was hanging on to consciousness only through sheer willpower, for his injuries and lack of power were doing their best to pull him under.

If he was going to get killed he wanted to look into the eyes of his murderer. He wanted to know exactly how it happened. He tried to escape one last time.

He tried to bend his legs and to crawl away as a pathetic attempt to do something. But it was throbbing like hell right now and he could not even get it to move at all without risking to black out right here and then.

All the orbing had made him sick to the point where he did not even want to swallow out of fear that he would vomit. He did not even want to think about how that would feel in his current state.

The syringe was pushed harshly into his neck. It pierced his skin and the content was quickly depleted into his blood stream. It was like a little fire that slowly spread throughout his body.

Yet, he did not have a chance to concentrate on this new sensation. Stacey delivered a stunning blow to his ribs that let him shrink back in pain. He was cowering down in pain and did not know what hurt more: the syringe´s content entering his system, his old injuries or his ribs.

He lay on the ground trying to breathe through the pain. It was difficult because everything just freakin´ hurt so much that he wanted to cry. It was unfair. Why did he always end up as someone´s punching bag?

"You sorry bastard should have known that running was no use! I am mad right now and you will have to suffer!" Stacey had gripped his ear and was hissing the words into his ear. The hot breath of her let him shudder in disgust but it hurt to move when she gripped his ear so hard. Every new inflicted pain tried to overwhelm the already existing pain but hardly any succeeded.

It felt as if he was on fire, was run over by a truck, was ripped apart and was cold at the same time. He knew such pain from before but he would not have dreamt to suffer from it in the past where he was not even born yet! How had he screwed up like that?

As he bled everywhere and his head hurt more than his leg he gasped as another syringe pierced his skin. He would have rolled his eyes had he had the strength but he just accepted his fate and squirmed on the ground like a fish out of water. He was looking pathetic but he did not care. He wanted to die already it was just too freakin´ much.

Stacy only laughed dirty and looked as if she had won the greatest battle on earth.

"I should have told you kiddo. I hate all Halliwell! It is only fair that you die, too. What can I do to help if you were that stupid to come back in time?!" Stacey released his ear and stood back up. She put her hands on her hips and regarded him like a finished painting that she was proud of. And proud of her work she was; he was exactly where she wanted him to be. He was twisting in pain in front of her; he was completely at her mercy.

But unfortunately Stacey was not known for mercy. And she would not show him any.

_I came here for a reason... But I do not need to explain myself to you! ... This poison you give me right now... do you think that that can kill me? ... Oh Wyatt... I failed you... I failed you badly this time... And I was just hoping I could change anything..._

_I thought that ... no, I really believed that I could help you... save you... but it was naïve of me to think that I could do anything..._

_I am too weak to change anything..._

_Dad always told me I should stay at home… go hide under the bed and let the adults, the one who could do something, handle the situation. I should stay out of the way…_

_I think he was somehow right..._

_I was no use for the family... Never..._

_Always the little boy that needed help..._

_Every time a demon attacked you had to rescue me... Wy, what would I have done without you? _

_They would always use me as bait... Always... and you would always come and rescue me... no, not always..._

_This time you cannot help me... because you are in another time line... or because you are a cute little toddler..._

_Neither version of you can help me right now... or do you even want to help me..._

_After all you wanted to kill me... several times actually..._

_...Sigh..._

_I ran into another demon of Jo... but I do not really know which Jo..._

_There seems to be more than one Jo... Crazy..._

_Was every demon I met in the last three days called Jo?_

_This Stacy woman is terrible... She is so cruel... _

_I hope you never have to go to a hospital... The nurses are crazy... really crazy... and worst of all they are demons... big and cruel demons..._

_She could have killed me in any other way but she used poison..._

_Poison... of all the ways to die it is a stupid poison that shall kill me..._

_Ironic... how many times did you try that, Wy? How many times?_

_But Paige helped me... and as she died I could count on other whitelighters that joined me and not you..._

_After a while I became resistant to any of your poisons..._

_So why can this kill me now?_

_It is not possible but I feel powerless..._

_And my death should bring Piper in more trouble... How should she explain my appearance? How will she explain this mess? Did they know that I belong to them?_

_I should just stand up, kick that Stacy lady´s ass and assure that agency lady that I am not abused... _

_But how? How am I going to do that? I can feel myself slipping…_

_Wait...!_

_Is that Wyatt's aura?_

_?_

_What the hell is happening?_

_I am sensing him here? Now?_

_Why?_

_And why is he so ... evil?_

_This is his baby self! That should not be happening!_

_I NEED TO HEAL HIM! I NEED TO FIX THIS!_

_I don't want to be **the** reason for his turn! _

_I am right by your side Wyatt, just count on me! I am going to fix this. I am going to save you. _

Stacey needed to administer the last syringe filled with the deadly poison. She had no idea why there had to be three of them and why she could not kill him herself. She just had to stick to her orders. She shrugged and uncapped the last one. Inwardly she was sure she would succeed and secretly she imagined her huge award.

Chris, however, made up his mind. He was still alive. All the pain he was in he knew he had to be. Why he did not know nor did it matter to him. There was only one thing that he needed to do. The very thing he had gone back in time for. He had to save his brother.

The evil aura around him had reminded Chris that evil lurked everywhere and Wyatt was easy prey. He had to protect his brother, he had to save him, he had to, and he just had to. He was Chris Halliwell, and he was determined to do it. He was about to risk his last breath.

Even if he was about to die right now he could still do something. He knew it. There was something inside of him that beckoned him. He remembered it. It was his secret power. He knew that it would strip him of every other way to defend himself and it was by far no active and offensive power but it was all he needed right now.

He would not go down this easily. He still had to make Stacey´s day bad. And maybe this was his chance to delay his death. For whatever reasons the last two syringes had not killed him yet. And Stacey was currently busy with another one, her face set in concentration. He knew that this was his very last chance.

He thought about his family. He thought about the trouble he had caused. He thought about how much he hated Stacey and Jo. Last but not least he thought about Wyatt and how the baby version of his brother was already so much like his elder self. He knew he could do it. He had to.

The syringe was ready. Stacey leaned forward. The tip of the syringe inched towards his neck. From where he was laying he could see it advancing. With one last thought about his mission, his purpose and his value in history he closed his eyes.

He let his mind wander. He imagined a place without pain. It was his sanctuary inside his mind. It looked like the park where he had asked Bianca to marry him. Only this time the park was alive. It was healthy, green and every flower was flourishing. The wind was blowing and birds were chirping. It was a solitude that was comforting and welcoming. He felt safe and for a split second he could be painless.

He withdrew into his sanctuary only during torture session or when he was on the brink of death. This time he did it because of both.

A lovely kingfisher approached him. His small form let it appear unthreatening yet it was powerful. Its blue wings and yellow belly let it seem magnificent and beautiful. It flew high, so high that it had a complete overlook over this beautiful place.

Chris whistled for it. It responded immediately. It dove down and landed elegantly in front of his eyes. He knew it and it knew him. They were one. In this world they belonged together. They did not see each other often but when they did they did not need words.

Each one of them knew what the other had suffered through: pain or loneliness.

They made each other whole.

The bird reminded Chris of his love and secretly he would call it Bianca. But then again this kingfisher did not need a name it was just his friend. It was his only companion in the darkest hours of his life.

This time it was no different. It knew what he wanted. It stretched its wings and took up into the air. It headed for him and he felt himself opening his imaginary arms welcoming it. As soon as it landed on his hand their hearts connected.

Chris felt the strong power of his friend pass over to him. He felt it warming him from the inside. His hopes went up. He knew that with the help of the kingfisher he could hold on a little while longer.

The transition was complete and Chris silently thanked his friend. He left his sanctuary and came back to reality. The syringe was only one inch away from his throat, yet Chris did not feel threatened anymore.

He knew that the kingfisher had equipped him with a handy power. And he used it. The familiar power flow of his friend extended slowly.

Chris thought about his friend and about Wyatt and let his instinct take over. The kingfisher´s power shot through him and enveloped him. He felt secure and warm. It reached his skin and moved on. It left his body and began to form a secure green bubble of pure magic.

A magic so terrifying and powerful only a Halliwell could possess.

The only disadvantage of this power was its excessive use of power. It was quickly depleting him. Yet, Chris did not need much time.

The green bubble connected with the syringe. It crept up towards the content, let it boil and shattered the glass. Stacey flinched as the hot liquid connected with her hand and let the syringe fall down.

It crashed down and was completely broken and useless. It could hurt Chris no longer.

"Damn it! That kid is way too strong!" Stacy gasped and cursed at the same time. She stared at the offending green bubble for a long time and tried to think of a way she could kill Chris now. She would just have to kill him herself.

Chris felt safe for the moment and decided to take advantage of this situation. It was as Wyatt always said: Use the opening when you see one and act on instinct!

So Chris moved his head a tiny bit and moved his eyes upwards. They landed on Stacey´s stunned once and his gaze darkened. He opened his mouth to speak and had to swallow a few times before he felt sure enough to voice words.

Then he spoke in a voice that sounded even to his own ears like the cruelest one he had ever heard,

"WHAT DID YOU AND YOUR STUPID DEMON PACK DO TO MY BROTHER?!"

* * *

"I can call his real mother," Piper offered after Mrs. Ghid had recovered from her initial shock. Piper had to keep going. She needed to see Chris no matter what.

"I ...," Mrs. Ghid said slightly embarrassed; "do not know what to say Mrs. Halliwell:"

"It does not matter. I'll catch her on her way home. I think I have her number somewhere...," Piper tried to cover and quickly changed the subject, "Do you have a restroom?"

"Sure. Second floor right side," Mrs. Ghid said and still looked bewildered at Piper. This admission had completely taken her by surprise.

"Until later!" Piper called over her back. She had sprung to her feet as soon as Mrs. Ghid had spoken up and quickly made her way to the door. She opened the door and all but ran out. She left a very confused Mrs. Ghid behind.

Piper stormed through the corridor which was oddly quiet and deserted. She did pay it no mind though. She rushed up the flight of stairs and reached the second floor. She turned right and hurried along the corridor until she found the sign indication the women´s restroom.

She pushed open the door and entered the room. As the door closed on its own Piper immediately ran into action mood.

She pulled out her cell phone and was relieved to find a signal. She dialed Phoebe´s number and waited for her sister to pick up. They should have been here by now. Where the hell were they?

"_Damn it Phoebe take it! Answer it!"_

The phone went straight to voicemail and Piper sighed. She cancelled her call and dialed Paige´s number. This time it rang longer but no one picked up. Piper was getting worried. She could not call Wyatt for he had no cell phone yet. Chris was somewhere in this hospital and Leo had gotten taken away by those damn elders. She felt utterly alone all of a sudden.

"_Maybe they are in a traffic jam... and can't orb over and Phoebe's cell phone storage battery is very low..."_

"I can do it alone!" Piper said out loud to convince herself and to hear someone bolster her up even if that someone was herself.

Piper peered out of the door again making sure that no one was on the corridor. Then she checked every toilet and finally was satisfied that she was indeed alone. She slid down to the ground, pulled her legs towards her and hugged herself. She was going to do this. She was going to get help.

She closed her eyes and let out slow breath after slow breath. She needed to be calm for this. She had never done it before but this was an emergency. She concentrated and thought hard. Finally she came up with a spell. She hoped it was good enough. Normally Phoebe would help her out but she could not reach her. She had to do this alone.

With one last breath and a quick prayer to her ancestors she opened her eyes. She exhaled slowly and then began to chant.

"_**Hear now the words of a worried mother in the past**_

_**who cries for help for her soon to be son and help her fast**_

_**his corporal mother of the future is needed here**_

_**so that not those things can happen what all fear **_

_**help her to get over in space and time **_

_**and let her help so that her son Chris can be fine!"**_

Piper held her breath. She was not sure if this was going to work or if it would backfire. It was by far not the best spell she had heard but it was all she got. She needed help.

The words seemed to take effect. A golden light appeared in front of Piper. It looked like stars swirling around trying to create something. They got brighter before finally softened and revealed the shape of a person. The person was not solid rather transparent.

Really, Piper was near a complete breakdown when she grasped what was happening in front of her. She did not want to believe what she saw, what her knowledge was trying to tell her. She did not want to face this. She knew it was a bad idea but she had been sure that she would get help.

Now all she saw gave her almost a heart attack.

Sure, it could have been her.

Maybe some years older and some more grey hairs but what worried her most was one thing, the most important one:

"Why are you a _ghost_?!"

And Future Piper looked at her confused and at loss for words...

TBC...

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	18. New hope

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 18: New Hope**

"Piper, look...," Future Piper tried to break the uncomfortable silence. She had no idea which time it was and why she was here. But from the shocked expression on her counterpart´s face she figured it was a huge shock for her to see her _dead_.

"I ... um...," Future Piper was at loss for any words.

"But how? I mean how did I ...?" Piper tried to voice her question but the sight of her dead counterpart erased her ability to talk coherently. "Why...? When...? What did I do to deserve this?"

Piper was confused. Chris had not mentioned that she was _dead_. Dead! How should she be able to get help now? What was she to do?

Future Piper looked at her and then decided to do something. She had to figure this out and help her past self. The sooner she fulfilled her purpose she could get back to the afterlife. She just hoped it was nothing serious.

"Ok so why did you summon me?" Future Piper asked her past self and hoped to bring her to talk to her. Anything was better than her stuttering. "And where exactly am I?"

"But...," Piper protested weakly and gestured with her hands around. She was sure that if she was not already sitting she would have sunk down now. This was just too much. She was _dead_.

"No Piper, listen to me! Piper!" Future Piper insisted. Once she got Piper´s eyes on her face again she continued on. "I am here for a reason and I would like to know what that is. You can tell me. After all it was you who summoned me, wasn´t it?"

She smiled at her past self and tried to encourage her to spill the beans.

"Sure...," Piper replied and shook herself out of her reverie. What did it matter now that she was dead? She had to save her family first.

"Well," Piper began to tell her, "to speed things up... Chris and Wyatt are in danger."

Future Piper just smiled at her. It seemed as if it was a normal thing for her to hear about her sons being in danger. Piper could not believe this. What was wrong with... _her_?

"Why are you smiling?" Piper hissed more aggressively than she intended.

"You just named Chris before Wyatt... that`s all...," Future Piper told her and smiled at her warmly, "I figured I am in the time line where he went back to."

"Oh...," Piper whispered embarrassed as she realised how worried she was and how rude she had been.

This woman was her after all. She was the _real _mother of Chris. Chris who was currently somewhere in this damn hospital. Chris to whom she still was not allowed to go to. Therefore she gulped down around the lump in her throat and began filling in her future self in the events that happened these days...

* * *

"How long can you hold up your damn shield? Why is it so strong?!" Stacy was infuriated. She tried to attack it, break it, and scratch it. So far she had achieved nothing but burned hands.

"As long as it is necessary," Chris answered her in a detached and cold voice. He was beyond reasoning.

Chris had lost it. He was the one who would turn his brother. Of all the demons he vanquished it was his own life that should have been ended before...

NO! ... He needed to stay alive to tell Wyatt that he was okay and there for him... He needed to help Wyatt to get that dark side of him under control... After all everyone of us had a dark side... Some could control it better than others... But still...

He was desperate...

How should he vanquish a demon nurse when his only working power was the quickly weakening shield ... that awesome protection he got from Wyatt... Back, when they were still friends and good and...

Oh god... Wyatt...

Chris eyes´ began to water as he thought about better days. He had to focus. He had to do something.

"Stupid kid!" the nurse cursed. "I`ll kill you one way or another!"

She began to stab at his shield with a dagger. For each connection she received an electrical shock yet she kept stabbing. She was just as stubborn as he was.

"Try," Chris provoked her. He had to be important. Important enough to be killed anyway. If he could just get help. He needed someone to help him. He hated being this weak. He had thought that he had grown, had gotten powerful, and had become responsible for himself.

He really wished he would not be such a fool. He had to save Wyatt. But it seemed that it was him who needed saving more. He hated himself for it. He was weak; he did not deserve the name Halliwell after all. Leo had been right all this time. He was a shame on the family name. He was the black sheep.

He still heard Wyatt tell him that he should have died back then. He should have just gone into hiding and never gotten back out. He should have ended his sorry self before it could come to this.

And Stacy kept attacking him with all she had.

Energy balls, kicks, pushes, athames, everything...

But Chris` shield was strong. It was the last straw that held Chris in this world. As his inner world swirled around self loathing thoughts he was slipping deeper and deeper into depression. Chris almost wanted to end himself here and there.

The shield gained its power by letting Chris slip into darkness. It was as if the kingfisher knew Chris´ pain and tried to prevent him from doing anything stupid.

Chris was still blaming himself when he felt himself being pulled under. His eyes had watered and tears were beginning to fall.

The last thought that he had was, _"Are you really here mom?"_

And he whispered, "Mom." It sounded like a last desperate plea of a frightened and hurt kid who was about to die.

"Damn kid!" Stacy thought, "He lost consciousness. Now he can take the power that is needed to stay awake and put it in his defense. Damn it! Die already!"

* * *

"Where is the next one?!" Phoebe growled as she licked her fingers clean. She smiled in satisfaction as she tasted the metallic taste of blood. She looked around hungrily.

"Over there!" Paige shouted as she kicked another demon`s limb away. Paige was eager to supply Phoebe with more demons. She had enough for herself. She approached another one who backed away frightened. He was not told that the Halliwells were this deadly.

But Wyatt had already killed that one. He smirked evilly. He played with a finger that he had ripped off of a demon. The car toy was safely tucked away in his pocket. His blond hair dripped with blood, blood that was not his own though.

"Let`s move guys!" Paige ordered and walked off.

Wyatt and Phoebe followed close behind her. They had decided to walk on while they killed their followers. It was all so easy and it all felt so _good_.

Every once in a while they killed another demon, ripped it apart, crippled it, maimed it or just vanquished it.

Jo who watched was worried. This part of the plan was starting to unsettle his confidence.

"They should have at least a scratch but they are still walking around... And Stacy has not reported yet... what shall we do?"

He looked worriedly after the more than deadly trio...

* * *

"Where am I?" asked a groggily Leo. He had come around a few seconds ago. He looked around confused as he figured that he was up there. He no longer had an IV but he was still lying down. He pushed himself up on his elbows and looked towards the nearest elder questioningly.

"Blessed be, Leo!" the elder greeted him and smiled warmly down at him, "How do you feel, Leo?"

"Dart?" Leo asked again. He tried to understand what was going on. What had happened, how did he end up here? His memories were a bit fuzzy. "What am I doing here?"

"You were heavily poisoned Leo," Dart informed him. The smile left the elder´s face. The hands which he had inside the opposite sleeves twitched ever so slightly.

"What?" Leo replied confused. He was poisoned? Was it a darklighter? It did not feel like that. It felt worse.

"No need to worry now," Dart tried to placate Leo, "You were healed by us."

"The last thing I remember was Chris being ill...," Leo trailed off after he had searched through his memories again. This time he did not come up empty.

"That is correct, I`m afraid," Dart told him empathetically.

"Where is he? Where is my family? Are they okay?" Leo fired his three questions without taking a breath and was up on his feet. He had a feeling of foreboding. Something was wrong, he knew it. What had he been doing? Where were they?

"Wait Leo," Dart spoke up and held up both of his hands in a slow-down-gesture. "I need to tell you something."

"What is it Dart?" Leo asked eager to orb down to his family to make sure they were okay.

"Chris was also poisoned by a demon," Dart informed Leo and watched his friend´s reaction.

"I knew it!" Leo exclaimed as some pieces of his memory started to come back.

"It is worse, I think," Dart said and looked down. He tried to prepare himself for what was to come.

"Why?" Leo´s tone had softened as he saw how hard it was for his friend to tell him this. Whatever it was it had to be terrible.

"Those demons are a family. All of them are called Jo. And they have the ability to control any demons," Dart informed Leo as he looked him deep in the eyes. He tried to make Leo understand, "and to poison every good magical being."

"What is your point?" Leo inquired as stood his ground but did not follow Dart´s chain of thoughts.

"I think that Chris tried to gain information from them," Dart explained and added, "and that he pissed them off."

"I see," Leo agreed and put a hand towards his chin deep in thought.

"Now your family is their next goal. They want to extinguish you," Dart said, "All of you."

"They can try but they will never succeed!" Leo clenched his hands to fists and put them next to his hips. He was showing his friend his resolve.

"Very well Leo. So get to earth and give those three potions to Phoebe, Paige and Wyatt," Dart smiled again as he saw that Leo was indeed his old self again.

"Why?" Leo asked bewildered as he accepted the potions.

"I am afraid they are already poisoned just like you," Dart informed him seriously.

"But this," he indicated to the three potions. "Will heal them. Just like it healed you."

"And Chris?" Leo dared to ask while he held his breath. He knew he would not like the answer.

"We try to find an antidote for him," Dart said evasively. As he saw Leo´s serious and somewhat angry gaze he quickly added, "but I can`t make any miracles."

"Okay," Leo conceded and sighed. Then his fierce look returned and he shared his plan with Dart. "First I save my first born and then I`ll help my second... I`ll go!"

"Be careful Leo," answered a confused Dart. Then after a second he asked, "Second born? Who?"

Leo had already orbed out with the three bottles in his hands and did not explain this to Dart.

* * *

"So," Future Piper summarized dryly, "you`re saying that my little babies are in great danger?!"

"Yes and I need your help to get that woman to let one of us to Chris. And I`ll try to call my sisters again," Piper agreed and picked up her phone again. She wanted to dial Phoebe again as she heard her future self ask, "Where`s Leo?"

"He`s up there because he was poisoned, too," Piper informed her depressed as she looked down to the floor.

"Oh my goodness!" Future Piper exclaimed, "You`re in quite a mess here!"

"You can say that!" Piper agreed and looked up at her with hopeful eyes. "Are you going to help me?"

"Are you kidding?!" Future Piper retorted and then softened her tone. "Of course I`ll help my family!"

Piper allowed herself to smile a small smile. She thought shortly and then said,

"Then let`s see...

_**This woman in front of me**_

_**Let her be seen as a human witch in a great dress**_

_**And let herself and mine different be**_

_**To get Chris and us out of this mess.**_"

She looked expectantly at Future Piper.

"Are you serious with that spell?" asked Future Piper with a small snicker.

"Sorry, couldn`t think of another one," Piper replied sheepishly.

"Yeah I know...So how do you call me?" Future Piper asked Piper and smiled at her.

"Huh?" Piper replied confused. What was she getting at?

"You can`t call me Piper," Future Piper deadpanned.

"Why not?" Piper asked.

"Because I am you, only a couple of years older," Future Piper told her, "How are you going to explain that?"

"Oh well," Piper thought for a moment and then smiled, "then let`s call you Piper Perry."

"Piper Perry?" Future Piper could not hold back her laughter.

"Chris called himself so," Piper informed her future self and smiled, too.

"Oh I see. Okay let`s do that," Future Piper agreed and smiled warmly at Piper. She hoped that this little conversation was helping her past self. She had been a mess when she arrived and now she was smiling again.

"Let`s go to Mrs. Ghid," Piper announced.

They walked out of the room and reappeared in the room where Mrs. Ghid waited.

Mrs. Ghid stood up as they entered the room and looked from one to the other. Then she walked forward to them.

"I am Mrs. Ghid. Nice to meet you Mrs...?" she introduced herself as she directed her question towards Future Piper.

"I am Piper Perry," Future Piper introduced herself and shook Mrs. Ghid´s hand after she insisted on it.

"We know each other already," Piper muttered under her breath and earned herself a stern look from Future Piper.

"Please come on in and sit down," Mrs. Ghid greeted them. She was still suspicious of Piper and she did not like this new Piper one bit. Who were theses women?

As she gestured towards two chairs that stood opposite the table behind which she sat down Piper and Future Piper took their seats as well.

Piper was a bundle of nerves but Future Piper crossed her legs and leaned back. She had been informed by Piper about her current predicament.

"I am terribly sorry to accuse you Mrs. Halliwell. I want to apologize for my behaviour earlier," Mrs. Ghid began to say, "but in this world you can never be careful enough when parents abuse their own children..."

"It is okay Mrs. Ghid I can understand your point," Piper cut in. She was impatient to see Chris. "But right now my son Chris is more important." She cast a nervous glance towards Future Piper who did not move a muscle.

"Yes and she already informed me that she was not allowed to hear about his current condition," Future Piper chimed in, "May I get informed now?" Her tone held all the authority of her age. She appeared to be in charge here. Mrs. Ghid, however, was still careful.

"Of course Mrs. Perry," Mrs. Ghid said and picked up the phone. "I`ll call his doctor."

"Okay...," Piper muttered and her legs began to tremble. This call could tell her what she wanted to know. She still did not believe how easy it had been to convince Mrs. Ghid about Piper´s future self being Chris´ real mother. Something felt not right.

"Why do you not know about his condition?" Future Piper inquired in a harsh tone. She leaned forward a bit and stared Mrs. Ghid down.

"Well...," Mrs. Ghid stammered but quickly recovered, "I was busy with this file..."

"Cut the crap!" Future Piper interrupted her. She had to make clear who was in charge here. Social workers never were easy to deal with.

"You only wanted to keep her away from him!" she accused Mrs. Ghid and her gaze darkened.

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Ghid let the phone sink down in front of her and stared at Future Piper dumbfounded.

Piper looked at her future self unbelievingly. Why was she provoking this woman? Why did she not let her make the call that would put their minds to ease?

"Piper what do you mean?" she asked her future counterpart.

"A social worker who does not know about the current condition of her file is as bad as my...," she explained and quickly corrected herself, "No scratch that! But I know when someone wants to keep me away from my son!"

"Piper!" Piper hissed at her future self afraid that she would risk everything they had achieved so far.

"No Piper!" Future Piper retorted and stared at Mrs. Ghid. "This lady is not who she pretends to be!"

"And that is?" Piper wanted to know. She had not really understood what she meant. "She is a social worker! She only worries about children!"

"Do you really think so?" Future Piper asked her incredulously.

"No," Piper whispered and lowered her eyes.

"Huh?" Future Piper leaned closer to hear what Piper had to say. She knew that her past self had already developed this sixth sense that warned her about danger. She had to make Piper see that.

"Well, I already had that bad feeling when I first met her," Piper admitted, "But you can`t always mistrust everyone Piper!"

"In my world you have to mistrust everyone or it was your last hour!" Future Piper filled her in and gave her a pointed look.

"You mean the world where Chris comes from?" Piper whispered back and realization dawned. "Oh damn it he was right... all the time... the future really is a mess."

"Yes it is," Future Piper told her softly, "and now we can help my little peanut and then save my little sunshine from turning evil!"

"_Turning_ evil?" Piper echoed disbelievingly.

"Yes Piper, our first born is the king of all evil in the future," Future Piper deadpanned, "and I am damn sure that our little peanut is here to change that!"

"So Chris wants to save Wyatt," Piper concluded, "And by doing so he can improve the lives of all people?"

"Yes," Future Piper confirmed. She was happy that Piper finally understood. She turned her gaze towards Mrs. Ghid and the room´s temperature seemed to drop a few degrees.

"But right now this demon woman has a plan to keep us away from him!"

Piper picked up on Future Piper´s chain of thoughts and stood up. She took a step forward and let out in low growl, "Tell me where my son is... N O W !"

Mrs. Ghid who had been quiet all the while grinned evilly. She leaned back in her chair and felt confident.

"You`re too late...," she promised them, "Stacy already killed him!"

"Stacy, the nurse?!" Piper shrieked as she remembered the woman who had tended to her son´s injuries first.

"All the while when you were summoning your future ass here she had plenty of time to kill him," Mrs. Ghid laughed evilly. Then she added in a dangerous tone, "And do not worry your sisters and your son are poisoned... just like your ex-husband!"

Her sinister laughter died down as Piper muttered a stunned and angry, "You ...!"

But before she could say anything else Future Piper raised her hands. With a flick of her finger Mrs. Ghid exploded into a million pieces and met death instantly. Future Piper sat on the chair and let out a lazy sigh, "That is not what she deserved, damn it!"

She looked one last time at her nails and then stood up.

"Why can you use your powers here?" Piper asked stunned and shocked about the news.

"That does not really matter right now, does it?!" Future Piper was infuriated, "Let´s find Chris!"

"No, I think it doesn`t," Piper conceded sheepishly once more and then added a strong, "Let`s search for Chris!"

And they left the room in a hurry. They excited the room and then looked around. Where could they search first?

They ran down the flight of stairs and rushed towards the entrance. From there they wanted to retrace the steps a new patient would take when he was first delivered in.

Suddenly as they had searched for more than ten minutes Future Piper felt a sharp pain in her chest. She clutched at her heart and willed it to stop hurting. A soft whisper, more of a moan reached her ears and she believed she could hear a small breath carrying the word `mom` to her ears like a soft plea.

"Piper did you hear that?" Future Piper pressed out between quick breaths.

"What`s wrong? Are you alright?" Piper was at her side in an instant and looked worriedly around. Had she been attacked?

"Did you hear that?" Future Piper repeated her question and straightened. The sharp pain had disappeared.

"What?" Piper replied and let her gaze wander around the hallway. She strained to hear something but came up empty.

"He called me `mom`," Future Piper told her, "I think he is in trouble."

"Thank god," Piper exclaimed, "then he is still alive!"

"Yes," Future Piper confirmed, "but where is he?"

"I have no clue...," Piper whispered defeated and then whirled around as a doctor walked over.

"Hey mister!" she stopped him; "Do you know where the boy is that was brought in here a couple of minutes ago?"

"The boy with the collapse?" the doctor tried to clarify.

"Yes," Piper said urgently.

"He is in room 34.5," the doctor informed her, "Why? Are you family?"

"Yes! Thank you very much!" Piper replied and made to run away just as Future Piper asked, "And where exactly is that room?"

Piper blushed; she had totally forgotten to ask about that...

"Second floor on the right side, ladies," he smiled a sad smile at them and then hurried along as his pager beeped.

"Thank you sir," Future Piper replied and pushed Piper the way along, "That is exactly where we came from, damn it."

"Thanks Piper," Piper whispered embarrassed.

"It´s okay," Future Piper consoled her, "You´re worried sick and think about too much. So am I. Now let`s find him!"

"Okay," Piper replied and felt safe. She was glad that her future self was here to help her. Maybe, just maybe, things could end well.

And they hurried to the stairs because they thought that the lift would be too slow.

* * *

It was the worst sight Leo had ever seen. Everywhere lay limbs around. It smelled like rotten eggs and everything seemed to be oozing with blood. Leo had no time to waste he had to stop this. He reappeared in front of his son who looked nothing like his sweet little angel.

"Hey buddy," Leo greeted his son, "Daddy is here!"

The look he received from his toddler should have shocked him but Leo was prepared. He had seen evil before and Wyatt was just a victim to this poison at least that was what Leo was telling himself.

Wyatt looked at his daddy. He was covered in blood and slime but despite his evil appearance he managed to squeal in delight as he saw his father. He did not raise his shield to protect himself.

Leo was relieved to not have to fight his son so he took a step forward. From behind his back he grabbed one of the potions and slowly came closer to his son. The little one trudged forward. Just inches before they reached each other Leo smashed the vial on the ground.

The potion ended up in smoke which engulfed Wyatt. As soon as he inhaled it his eyes began to drop. He yawned shortly, rubbed his dirty hands on his cheeks and then simply collapsed. Before his head connected with the ground though, his father caught him in his strong arms.

"Wyatt!" Leo shrieked as he had caught his son, "Dart you ...! Why didn´t you tell me that this would happen?!" Leo muttered under his breath.

Upon seeing Leo on the battlefield Phoebe and Paige ran over to the two.

"Leo!" Paige shouted from far ahead to get his attention.

"Why are you not with Piper and Chris?" Phoebe demanded to know, "Is ... is he dead?" she added horrified.

"No Phoebe! No!" Leo quickly assured her, "He ... well I don´t really know how he is but he will be fine!"

"Thank god!" Paige replied and sighed as she reached Leo and Wyatt.

"Watch out!" Phoebe warned her suddenly. Paige barely had time to dodge the energy ball that was thrown her way.

"_Damn it! The elder is back!" _Jo who was still watching from afar thought as he realized that Leo was back. He shimmered over to them.

"Phoebe, Paige," Leo began, "I am so sorry to have to do that but..."

Phoebe and Paige turned around to look at him confused. Leo quickly threw the potion at them. Their eyes widened in shock and they were forced to inhale the smoke that appeared. Before they could even understand what had happened they grew very tired. Their knees buckled and gave way. Their bodies fell down and their eyes closed sending them into blissful oblivion. Before they hit their heads he caught them and laid them softly on the ground.

"Sleep well and recover from that potion." Leo advised and put his sleeping son in his lap.

"That was a big mistake! Elder!" Jo hissed as a triumphant warning and threw an energy ball at Leo. Leo jumped visibly at the sound of his voice and made to turn around. He was about to face the deadly energy ball. But Wyatt who knew that his daddy was in danger even as he was totally out of it protected his daddy with his shield. The energy ball puffed out.

Leo smiled. "You`re such a good boy Wyatt. I won`t let anything bad happen to you. I promise!" he promised his sleeping son as he placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Do not make promises you cannot keep elder!" Jo laughed evilly not in the slightest worried by the shield, "I`ll kill all of you!"

"We`ll see about that," Leo threatened back. He laid Phoebe, Paige and Wyatt down. After checking on them one last time he turned fully around and stood up. He raised both of his arms, determination evident on his face. With a slight roar he attacked Jo with his electricity.

Tbc...

But my internet was not working...

Sorry folks...

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	19. Trouble with Chris

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 19: Trouble with Chris**

Leo fought a hard battle. The demon Jo used every trick he knew but he was no match to an elder and he soon came to know it.

For every energy ball that was thrown Leo´s way Leo countered with his electricity. Every sneak attack of Jo´s remained ineffective because of the shield of the first born.

It was too difficult to kill them and Jo was realizing that he only had one option left. He was starting to sweat from the exertion.

"Not tired yet?" Leo asked angrily he would not give in. He would fire back as long as it may take. He was here for his family. He was going to get them to safety. He swore that he would rather die here than not give everything in his power to stop that demon. After all he was part of the reason why they were in this mess in the first place.

"Actually, " Jo snarled, " I think I`ll withdraw now... Have a nice day!" He threw two more energy balls for good measure and shimmered away.

"Do you really think that Piper won`t protect our other son?" Leo muttered slightly out of breath. He was glad that the demon had run. He had not managed to kill it but he had succeeded in keeping his family safe. He crouched down and picked Wyatt up.

"Hey buddy," Wyatt whispered to his sleeping son, "daddy is so proud of you. Now let`s help mommy with Chris."

He hugged his little son and placed another kiss on his forehead. He would keep his sons safe. He would help Chris in keeping Wyatt good.

Wyatt opened one eye sleepily and nodded to his father. But soon after he closed it again and was fast asleep. Leo was not sure if he had imagined the nod or not. He liked to believe that his son had understood him and was on the mend. For now that thought was counting.

"Okay, Phoebe, Paige?" Leo asked his sisters in law. He nudged their shoulders, "Are you two with me?"

Phoebe stirred first. She raised her hands to her face and rubbed her eyes as if she had been asleep for a very long time. Sleepily she asked, "What...?"

"Leo?" Paige asked groggily after she had opened her eyes with obvious difficulty. She turned her face to look at her brother in law quizzically.

"No time to explain," Leo replied them relieved. He was grateful that they had already regained consciousness. It could only mean that the potion had already worked.

"Just get ready to orb to Piper and Chris," Leo informed them whilst he strengthening his hold on Wyatt.

"Orb? It is not working...," Phoebe muttered confused she still had her eyes closed. At least she had stopped to rub them. Leo had really thought that she tried to rub them out.

"And how do you think I got here?" Leo replied with a smile, "It must have been reversed some time ago. Come on, let´s go."

"Oh okay." Phoebe replied accepting his argument without further thought. Leo frowned. Maybe they were not 100% fit again but at least they were better.

Paige took one look at his face and decided to do as he asked. She put her hands under her and got to her knees. She paused there and took in a deep breath. Somehow she did not feel 100% well.

"Okay guys listen," Leo urged them on, "you can recover some more but we need to hurry. Let`s orb!".

They nodded but fell asleep soon after.

* * *

After running upstairs, turning several corners and simply rushing through the corridors Piper and her future self finally stormed in the room 34.5. The room that would hold their precious son.

They did not even bother knocking, they threw open the door. Somewhere in the back of their mind they wondered why nobody had stopped them so far but they soon had no time to trace the thought. The view in front of them made them angrier than they had ever been before.

Their second son lay unconsciously and with labored breathing on the floor of his room. The bed was unmade. There were some small traces of blood. But the most prominent thing in the room was the small green bubble that could barely contain its owner.

On the other side of the room stood a woman – supposed to be Stacy – and cursed. She was out of power. Every attempt of her to break the shield and kill the boy had failed. She was never this speechless and out of breath before. They had said he would be easy prey. They had promised her that this would be quick and easy dealt with.

No more than a couple of minutes, a quick kill. She had agreed because it had seemed easy. After all they had said that he was more dead than alive. And she had seen him. Had she not been here with him in this room she would not have believed the briefing.

"I must admit boy," she spoke to her prey, " you are way stronger than Jo said." She took one step forward and leaned towards his shield. She added in a voice that seemed to sound like remorse, "I just wish that you would have been born on our side... then you could have lived longer..."

She collected her last amount of energy in her hand. She was preparing herself for the death blow. At the sound of the voice she whirled around.

"And what exactly do you mean by THAT?!" Future Piper shouted at her. She had heard and witnessed enough. This woman was meant to die tonight. She had dared hurt her peanut.

Stacy´s eyes narrowed as she came face to face with two very, very angry Pipers. As she realized that she stood opposite of two Charmed Ones she began to stutter, her confidence fading, "How a..., I mean, when... why...?"

Future Piper could understand the stuttering of the demon and was too happy to provide her with answers.

"We came here for him, " she supplied in a deadly voice, "the how and when is not important."

"What _is_ important ," Present Piper cut in. Her voice sounded no less threatening then her future counterpart´s, "is that you tried to kill our little peanut there!" She raised her hands.

Stacy was not dumb. She never had been. She laughed at the irony. She should have known that there was no easy kill there was always a catch. She laughed artificially facing the prospect of dying at the hands of the Charmed Ones head on. Her last words before the combined power of molecular combustion ended her pathetic life were "Yeah tried..."

She did not even have the power anymore to prevent them from doing so... She was dead the day she first met him...

Both Pipers´ lowered their hands only after they were sure that a) Stacy was no more and b) no other demon shimmered in. As soon as they assumed it safe for them Future Piper let out a heavy sob and began to make her way over to her son. She called out his name tentatively when she reached his shield. The green bubble, however, remained active. It was flashing slightly appearing to be weakening but it did not disappear.

"Piper...," Present Piper called out to her future self. She had not moved from her spot. She was afraid. "Do you think he is ...?" Piper voiced her concern. She dared not believe it to be true.

"No!" Future Piper shot back sounding harsher than she wanted to. Present Piper shrank back at the volume of her voice. Future Piper did not see her because she had her back to her. But she knew of the feeling Present Piper had to have and softened her voice before she added, "He survived worse. He can be healed."

Present Piper drew a breath. It was not a guarantee but she would rather believe the judgment of a person that had spent way more time with Chris than her worst nightmare right now.

"Okay," Present Piper accepted her words. After a small pause in which Future Piper continued to stare the shield down she thought about the next steps. Carefully she suggested, "Then let`s head back home."

Future Piper tore her gaze from the shield and turned halfway around to face her past self. She addressed her with a strategic question "What about the doctors?"

Present Piper could not care less. And she uttered it promptly, "I think most of them are demons anyway." She crossed her arms in front of her. She did not care about them but she did not feel well about it either.

Future Piper sighed. She had to ask her, it was her past self´s magical life at stake here after all "And those who are not?"

Present Piper grew exasperated. What was her future self getting at? Wasn´t Chris more important? "We`ll think of something!" she spit out getting angry.

Future Piper knew the signs too well. Yet she kept pushing as she turned around completely, "You sure?"

Present Piper threw her hands up in exasperation and took one step forward. Her whole body language changed. "I give a damn about it," she replied in an upset tone, "when we expose magic or save my son here!"

Future Piper accepted defeat. Her past self knew about the risk and she was willing to throw caution to the wind.

"Okay, okay," she placated, "I understand you. I just hope Phoebe and Paige are here soon."

"Why?" Present Piper shot back confused at the sudden change of topic. Her angry stance loosened up.

Future Piper shrugged. "Remember?" she reminded her past self, "No orbing with him."

Present Piper had the decency to look ashamed. She had almost forgotten about that little piece of information. "Right...," she relented.

"Okay," Future Piper replied, "First things first. Let`s get to him."

"Yeah...," Present Piper trailed off and watched as Future Piper knelt down next to Chris again.

"Hey peanut," Future Present whispered to her son, " It`s me... it`s mommy. Come on Chris you can do it... open your eyes for me... for mommy..." She put as much love into her voice as possible. It would have helped more if she could stroke through his hair but she had to do with what she got.

Present Piper held her breath. She could not stand the waiting, the not knowing how he would react. He was so secretive about the future and his family that she did not know what he would say when he first saw _her_... His real mother... his _dead_ mother...

"Okay Chris listen," Future Piper kept on talking, "Just lower your shield so that mommy can help you." She waited a heartbeat than added, " Chris?... Please sweetie... You´re scaring mommy..."

_Maybe he was the scared one. Maybe all this time alone with this evil woman freaked him out. Maybe his powers were gone. And his last hope was this shield... Maybe he did everthing to keep it strong enough to survive... Maybe he could not turn it down even if he wanted to... No... Future Piper said your son is strong! We just need to wake him..._

"Chris you`re safe," Future Piper soothed her son, "Mommy is here... It`s me, it`s Piper." She waited for another heartbeat. "Come on Chris. _Please_. Chris?"

_What if he is lost? What if he had no will to survive anymore but his power refuses to let him go? No! _

"It`s really me," Future Piper insisted. "Just open your eyes and see for yourself!"

_What if that is the problem... What if he saw too many too bad things that he now doesn`t want to open his eyes anymore? No! He is strong!_

"Chris! Please I`m begging you!" Future Piper sobbed. She felt helpless. "You need to respond! Please! Peanut! Come on!"

_Maybe he thinks that he is dead... Hearing his dead mom can lead to such thoughts..._

"Okay mommy is really," Future Piper sobbed, "really worried sick right now; sweetie..."

_That`s no use..._

"Er... Piper?" Present Piper hesitantly spoke to her future self. She took a small step forward almost reaching her future self. It nearly broke her heart to see the desperate mother looking back at her while there were tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I don`t think," Present Piper began than stopped for a moment, "I mean, it has no use to try more..."

Before she had a chance to clarify her opinion Future Piper interrupted her and almost shrieked, "What?! Why?!"

Taken aback by the desperation in her voice Present Piper had to wait a moment. She calmed herself down as she looked into the desperate eyes of a woman that dared her to say the wrong thing. Past self or not it was not beneath Piper Halliwell to inflict pain on people who said wrong things. Right now with the emotions so intense Present Piper had to tread carefully.

"Look, I..." Present Piper began uncertainly. She swallowed nervously. Future Piper´s eyes narrowed. Her tears slowed down as she awaited whatever her past self had to tell her.

Present Piper swallowed once more and gathered all her courage. She had to voice her concern. "Look, maybe," she could do this, she could tell her future self this. With one last big swallow she spilled it, "maybe he thinks he`s dead." She watched as Future Piper´s eyes widened ever so slowly and she hastened to add, " you know with you being around..."

Her words had barely left her mouth and Present Piper waited with a held breath for the aftermath. But her future self surprised her by understanding immediately. "I think you are right," she whispered in a defeated tone and added, "Then what should we do?"

Present Piper sighed in relief. If Chris could hear his dead mother then he just had to think that he was dead, too. She had figured that out but she had not really an idea what to do about it.

"I..." Present Piper began but was interrupted as another doctor rushed into the room through the open door.

"I wondered why you did not come back Stac..." he stopped mid sentence to discover the young patient surrounded by a green bubble and two women who looked very much alike. He stopped dead in his tracks when both women whirled around and glared at him. They seemed ready to fight with everything they had to protect their unconscious son as they stared at him.

Feeling the hostile atmosphere in the room the doctor raised his hands in a non threatening way, backed away and said, "Easy ladies..."

"Whoareyou and whatdoyouwant?" Future Piper pressed in a murderous tone.

Present Piper looked nearly as angry as she inclined her head as if to support whatever Future Piper had planned.

The doctor gulped once. "I," he stuttered and then cleared his throat. "I did not mean to interrupt anything in here..." His eyes darted nervously through the room.

"Well, you did not," Present Piper replied fast... way too fast to sound like anything but a blatant lie. She was confronted by the exposure of magic sooner than she had feared.

"Ladies no need to worry," the doctor hastened to explain, "I know about magic."

"You do what?" Future Piper asked as her eyes narrowed. She would not fall for trick number one.

"No," the doctor stammered quickly, "no I am no demon." He witnessed as his words fell on deaf ears. He cleared his throat once more. "Please do not try to kill me," he pleaded and took a step back as he saw the hostile looks he received.

"But how can we be sure?" Present Piper asked. She had not really addressed him but he felt the need to say something. "By now I probably would have attacked you..." The goosebumps he had did nothing to calm his nerves. He could feel that they were powerful witches. If only he could make them see that he was no threat. The force field told him that there had been an attack of some sort. He just did not want to get involved in fighting. But he had a responsibility for his patient so he stood his ground albeit nervously.

"No, you would not..." Future Piper muttered not really convinced.

"Why?" the doctor asked confused. He could hear his heart beating. If they were to kill him, would they not have done it already?

"Because we`re not any magical beings," Future Piper supplied, "We`re two of the charmed ones." She watched him closely while she waited for his response.

"_The_ Charmed ones? Really?" the doctor replied sounding like he held nothing but admiration. "That is amazing! I, I never thought I would meet any of you! I am ..." he rubbed his hands on his pants, swallowed ones and hastily added, "well some sort of big fan of you."

Both Pipers shot him a look and he reaffirmed his statement, "Really! I love how you kick demon asses nearly every day! I wish I would be as strong as any of you." He took a breath and added, "What do I say... I wish I would be half as strong as any of you." And then the doctor actually squealed.

"Stop!" Present Piper interrupted his rambling. She was getting a headache.

"Sorry," the doctor relented, "I always do this when I am excited." He looked at them sheepishly. Then he looked like he just thought of something and quickly told them, "I am sorry. My name is Andie... Andie Brooks... Nice to meet you..." he trailed off and looked at them. A drop of sweat ran down his cheek. He waited for their decision.

"You said you were a huge fan?" Present Piper repeated suspiciously, "Why don`t you know our names?!"

The doctor was glad that he was able to answer that question rather easily. "I only know you as "the Charmed Ones". In my family names do not seem as important as in yours. I am only known as healer not as Andie."

Present Piper´s ears pricked up. "Oh so you`re a healer?" She asked him with a demanding undertone. It was too good to be true or a mere coincidence.

"Yes sort of," the doctor admitted, "I work here because some demons tried to cause trouble in this hospital." He looked around and could not find Stacy. Then he returned his gaze to Present Piper and said rather proudly, "But I figure that you vanquished most of them already."

"Why did _you_ not do it?" Future Piper butted in.

"Um," the doctor gulped as he saw Future Piper´s unrelenting gaze, "As I already said I am known as a healer and I swore not to do any harm." He saw her look that clearly said "how convenient" and added, "But I can work as a spy."

"Oh..." was all Present Piper could say. This turn of events was too fast.

"But why are you here?" Future Piper pressed. She did not accept the "I am just a healer" story yet.

"Because I work here," the poor doctor replied nervously.

"No," Future Piper clarified, "I mean why are you in this room?"

"Oh," realization dawned on his face, "I saw Stacy walking in this room and I did not see her coming out again. I got worried and wanted to check it out – earlier – but I got called to an emergency downstairs..." He swallowed waited for his sign to continue and concluded his tale with "So I could only come now and check on the patient. Who by the way is a very powerful witch I was told..." He knew he had said the wrong thing as soon as he felt Future Piper´s energy level rise. He gulped again.

"Yeah is that so?" Future Piper interrogated harshly.

"Yes," the doctor replied nervously, "he was in here with the demon Stacy for way longer than anyone before him... ever... and he was severly injured as he was brought in."

He saw both of them glare daggers at him for letting their son alone with a known demon. He quickly added, "I can only say this boy has guts!"

At that both Pipers smiled slightly. He was right about that. Although they would not forgive him so easily for letting Chris alone with her they could understand his position.

"And I think you are here to" the doctor implied carefully, "protect him?"

"Yes and no," Present Piper retorted. As the doctor looked lost Future Piper clarified, "He`s my son and I am here to get him home safely."

"Your son?" the doctor echoed, "I did not know that you had a grown up son already... Is this the twice-blessed?"

Present Piper got irritated by his way of referring to them by their magical given names and harshly corrected him, "No, this is not Wyatt... this is Chris... my second born..."

"But I thought he is yours?" the doctor was confused by Present Piper´s answer.

"Actually he is ours..." Present Piper replied and felt awkward by saying that. She could see how the poor guy did not comprehend a thing that they said. He looked from one to the other and seemed to get that they did look awfully alike. But maybe they were a lesbian pair?

"That does not matter now!" Future Piper interrupted sternly. She addressed the doctor directly. "Andie, can you help us coax him into lowering his shield?"

Andie looked directly at her as he realized that she had talked to him. "Why? What is wrong with him?" he inquired as he caught a quick glance at the force field.

"We don`t know," Piper explained worriedly, "but he does not lower his shield for us."

"Oh crap that is so not good..." Andie muttered and walked tentatively over to the women. He was holding his hands where they could see them. "May I check on him ladies?"

As they nodded carefully he knelt down next to the green bubble. In a smooth voice that did not betray his nervous feelings he addressed the patient. He had read his chart before so at least he knew that his given name was Chris. "Chris? Can you hear me son?" As he got no immediate response he tried again, "Chris?"

Present Piper and her future self waited with held breaths. Maybe the doctor could accomplish what they could not. But Chris did not respond to Andie, too.

"This is a bad situation ladies," the doctor sighed. He turned around and addressed them, "I need to explain a lot of things to you before we start the treatment. Are you ready?"

Present Piper and Future Piper looked at him expectantly, giving him a slight nod to continue.

"First, tell me about him," he asked of them.

"Huh?" Present Piper asked perplexed.

"What do you mean?" Future Piper asked suspiciously again.

"I mean," the doctor tried to clarify, "Well what exactly happened to him?"

"Um..." Future Piper hesitated to fill him in.

"He was poisoned some days ago – we think," Present Piper supplied, "And he is at his minimum of his power level – we thought. And he is as stubborn as a mule." She took a deep breath before adding, "He did not even tell us what was wrong with him..." She trailed off.

"Well, teens in that age do that a lot," Andie cut in and sounded sympathetic.

"He is no teen!" Future Piper interrupted indignantly.

"Never mind," Andie tried to placate. He turned serious again, "But we need to get to him to fix this. Any ideas how he is going to react? Any girl friends in trouble, any family members he cares a lot about? Anything that would turn his brain on and let me talk to him would be good."

"Er, his brother," Present Piper uttered, "I think his brother is the most important person in his life."

"His only person..." Future Piper corrected barely audible. She was yet again painfully reminded of dying too soon.

Present Piper looked at her with a sad expression. There was a pang of guilt in her heart. She knew how she had treated him.

"Okay," Andie cut in, "What is his name again?"

"Wyatt – it`s Wyatt." Present Piper replied. She could not get used to not addressing people by their given names.

"Okay," Andie said nodding. He turned around and whispered to Chris, "Hey Chris, it`s me again. I have bad news. Your bro Wyatt is in trouble." He waited a second before emphasizing, "Big trouble I mean."

This time Chris stirred a bit but his shield remained. Andie´s hope was raised so he continued, "Listen Chris, Wyatt needs you! You need to help him!"

Chris eyes fluttered but he did not wake up completely.

Present Piper and Future Piper watched totally hooked up with the way Andie tried to reach Chris.

_Why hadn`t they thought of that before? Possibly the worry thing kept them busy and stupid..._

"Chris?" Andie inquired, "Hey do you really want to let your bro suffer?"

Chris clenched fists. He squeezed his eyes shut. Andie was almost sure that his heart rate sped up.

"That`s good," Andie muttered with a quick look over his shoulder to the Pipers. Then he concentrated on his patient and urged him on, "Go and help him. Save him! Get his attacker. Take him down!"

Chris let out a loud breath. It sounded rattled but it was a sign of recognition.

"Oh come on! You can do it!" Andie raised his voice. "Wyatt needs you! Nobody else can help him! You have to help him."

Chris eyes fluttered once more. He tried to open them.

"His dad is down. His mom is down," Andie increased his speed of words. He was careful to sound frantic but determined at the same time. "I don`t know where his aunts are but you are here. You can help him. He really needs you!"

He waited a second before he added, "But you need to wake up first and lower your shield. You need to orb to him..."

Chris finally murmured something. "N... bing..."

Andie had to strain his ears but he could not understand him. "What was that?" he pressed.

Present Piper and Future Piper listened more carefully.

"o... or... in... ple..."

Chris labored breathing made his words difficult to understand but Present Piper smiled sadly. Future Piper noticed this and whispered, "What is it? What does he say?"

"He said no orbing." Piper clarified for all of them.

Future Piper smiled a teary smile, too.

"Is that a good sign?" Andie asked confused.

"Yes," Present Piper replied quickly, "he remembers that that made him sick before. It`s a good thing..." Piper trailed off.

"Okay buddy," Andie soothed his patient, "no orbing. But you must help your bro now! There are demons everywhere!"

Chris sighed and tried to roll over onto his side. He still had his eyes shut.

"Jo`s demons are after him!" Andie called alarmed.

Chris eyes flew open at the mention of Jo´s name. His eyes darted around, he was searching for the danger. He appeared to be ready to strike.

"Woah woah kiddo!" Andie soothed and backed away.

"Chris!" Future Piper exclaimed and tears of joy rolled down her cheek. Her baby was at least awake.

"Thank god ..." Piper whispered relieved upon seeing his open eyes.

Chris´ eyes found them. He looked for several seconds before his eyes moved on to Andie. He got a confused and pained look on his face and turned back to his mothers.

His eyes widened in fear as he realized that there were two versions of his mother – his dead mother.

_How can that be? Mom`s here? But why? _

_Where is Wyatt?_

_And Leo Phoebe and Paige?_

_Are they alright?_

_What happened after they brought me here?_

_Who is this guy?_

_Why am I feeling this lightheaded and weak?_

_And why the heck is my dead mother standing there before me in the flesh? _

_No no no – I am not... this can`t be... it`s a really really bad joke... _

_I am not ... dead?!_

_Please I can`t be killed by that female demon... No no nono _

"No...no ... no," Chris murmured distressed over and over again. He grabbed his head with his injured hand and gave a strangled cry of pain when his broken finger connected with his skull.

"Chris listen to me," Andie tried to interrupt this rambling, "I am Andie. I need you to lower your shield so that we can help you." He waited for a few seconds before inquiring, "Are you even listening?"

Chris had closed his eyes and tried to get his breathing under control. He clutched at his head and kept muttering "no".

Present Piper thought worriedly, _"What`s wrong with him? Does he not recognize us? What`s the matter?"_

"_I can`t believe this. He is awake but his shield is still up. Does he not trust me anymore? Is he afraid of me? But why?" _Future Piper could not find the answers she needed.

"Okay Chris. Lower your shield now." Andie demanded in a stern voice.

Chris opened his eyes and glared at him.

Andie smiled back at him and said, "So you _were_ listening."

Chris glared at him with an even deadlier look.

"Okay," Andie relented, "your moms are here and they are really worried about you." He pointed with his arm towards the two versions of Piper.

Chris did not look at the Pipers, he kept glaring at Andie and his thoughts spun around.

Memories of Jo flashed in his brain. Of Wyatt turning evil. He being attacked by his father, by demons... His mother`s death. His cousins`death, his aunts` and uncles` death. Everyone`s death. His mission... And again his mother`s death.

His breathing sped up again. He shut his eyes again and clutched his hands tighter to his head. The pain was becoming unbearable. It was not just the pain he felt from his broken and bruised body. The rush of his memories combined with the conflicting reality in which two versions of his dead mother were present were killing him. It felt like his head might explode.

"No no no no no" he kept muttering with increasing frenzy.

"Okay ladies," Andie addressed the Pipers, "this is so not helping us here."

"What can we do?" Present Piper wanted to know worriedly.

"Try to talk to him," Andie advised. "I`ll be back in a minute." He rose to his feet and got out of the room in a hurry.

"Chris? It`s me ... mommy..." Future Piper said quietly.

"No no no no" Chris kept muttering.

"Hey Chris... I am here, too" Present Piper added, "We are really worried about you."

"No no no no" He would not stop.

"Chris peanut... Mommy wants to make sure that you are okay..." Future Piper tried to soothe her son.

"no no no no" It sped up a bit.

"Er... Chris," Future Piper asked, "Wyatt needs you... He really does..." She trailed off unsure as to how to approach him. That annoying force field would not get away.

"No no no no no" Chris´s voice was getting strained.

"Okay listen," Future Piper was tired of this. "You are not going to get away from us. Would you just look at us for a sec?"

"No no no no" Chris would not listen to her.

"Really just look it does not hurt!" Future Piper shouted exasperated.

Chris turned around ever so slowly. He knew that tone of his mother. She was fed up with him. He did not want to make her angry. But by all means, she should be dead!

Present Piper and Future Piper held their breaths. Would he finally talk to them?

As Chris looked at his dead mother her death once again flashed in his mind. He could not watch this again. His mind and body were tired. As his eyes rolled back he gave in to the promising darkness.

"Chris!" Present Piper shrieked as he passed out. For a few agonizing seconds both Piper´s waited. As the green bubble finally fainted Future Piper could not help but shout "Look!"

"Oh My God!" Present Piper exclaimed worriedly. Future Piper hesitated no longer, she ran over to Chris and fell to her knees next to him.

"Wake up Chris. Please!" Future Piper sobbed as she shook him trying to raise him.

"His power is gone! His shield is gone!" Present Piper exclaimed horrified, "Piper is he... is he...?"

"No," Future Piper sobbed, "he has a weak pulse... He just... it was a lot for him..."

"Are you sure?" Present Piper had to make sure. "I mean he just stared and then puff he lays there so quiet and all..."

"Piper!" Future Piper interrupted her rambling, "He was weakened by a poison, he fought for hours against demons. Do you really think this strength would last for ever?"

"`f course not," Present Piper shot back before adding a desperate, "but he..."

"He`ll be fine," Future Piper promised, "I promise..."

"Okay," Present Piper relented and sank to her knees.

Chris breathing was still way too fast. It seemed as if he struggled to breathe easily. He was almost hyperventilating.

"Er... Piper?" Present Piper asked worriedly, "Has he trouble breathing?"

"It seems so..." Future Piper replied in thoughts as she stroke over his hairs.

Just in this moment Andie returned with an equipment set.

"Oh I see you managed to lower his shield." He complimented them.

"Well, he kinda collapsed alone..." Present Piper whispered.

"Yeah I imagine. Poor kiddo. Was a rough day wasn`t it?" Andie replied. He tried to lighten the mood. He smiled warmly at Piper and her future self before coming over to Chris.

"Please lay him on his back," He ordered. Future Piper complied.

"Okay. This is not the right place to examine him," Andie muttered. He addressed the women, "Do you have any other orbers in your family?"

"No orbing," Present Piper interjected, "it makes him sick."

"Well, then let him die." Andie deadpanned.

"Excuse me?!" Future Piper replied shocked.

"You don`t think that he will be safe here," Andie clarified, "There could be more of Jo`s demons around here ready to kill him when he is alone."

"Oh... yes," Present Piper relented, "we have Leo... oh crap." She muttered as she realized something.

"What?" Future Piper exclaimed getting fed up.

"He is up there!" Present Piper replied.

"Great! Just call him!" Future Piper urged.

"I`ll try," Present Piper promised. Then she drew in a deep breath and shouted, "L E O! ... Put your ass back down here! Your son needs you!"

Chris flinched in his sleep.

Andie has put an oxygen mask over his face. He was fussing over him, checking vitals here, and taking temperature there.

"Shh Chris... everything will be okay," Future Piper soothed him and stroke over his hair.

Finally after a few more seconds the familiar sounds of orbing appeared next to Piper. She had raised her hands but as soon as she recognized her husband she lowered her hands.

As Leo rematerialized Phoebe, Paige and Wyatt landed on the floor.

"Leo where were y...," Present Piper began to admonish her husband before she noticed the rest of her family. "Oh my gosh! What happened?" Piper shrieked and ran over to her baby.

"Wyatt sweetie, are you alright?" She cradled her baby in her arms.

Leo sighed tiredly and said, "long story..."

Future Piper cut him off, "No talking, just orb us home!"

Leo´s jaw dropped as he saw his wife only a little bit older standing next to him as his real wife stood in front of him. Then he saw Chris lying on the floor breathing heavily with a foreign person fussing over him.

"I`m Andie – I am a healer," Andie introduced himself before Leo had even a chance to ask.

"And a mind reader..." Leo muttered.

"Kinda... But we need to get him into a more comfortable position. Can you do that?" Andie replied all business like.

"Sure," Leo muttered and orbed the whole family and Andie to the Manor.

Before, however, Andie cast a spell to clean the room and made it look as if it never was occupied.

Back at home...

(A/N: If there is anything that can not happen in reality then blame it on my very small knowledge of medical stuff – I tried to look a lot of things up in the internet the past days when it actually worked... but you never know...)

TBC...

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	20. Preparations:Chris has to survive

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 20: Preparations: Chris has to survive**

Orbing back home, Andie, Leo and his family were greeted with an attack. Several demons threw energy balls at them all at once. It seemed as if they had been waiting for them. Leo was lucky to be able to react quickly. Before Chris could even rematerialize completely he was yet again engulfed in blue orbs. Leo orbed himself and his second born out of their reach. Having focused his attention on Chris all he had left was to hope that the attack would go over smoothly as he was unable to protect the rest of his family.

But the Charmed Ones were feared for a reason. With all that had happened recently they were almost prepared. The two Pipers blew up some of the demons by pure survival instinct and pure mother instinct to protect their children.

Phoebe and Paige were still out of it and got hit by some energy balls. They had been quick enough, however, to dodge them to the extent that they only suffered grazes.

Although little Wyatt was still sleeping off the poison his inner sense alerted him to the danger. As soon as he had rematerialized his small blue bubble surrounded him protectively. But even the Twice blessed had a limit, it was only strong enough to protect him for several minutes at most.

Andie having been a doctor for the better part of his life quickly jumped behind the couch as he heard the first energy balls whistle by. He waited in anticipation for the battle to end. He was definetly not happy with that situation.

"You are no match against us!" one of the demons growled condescendingly.

"Matt you coward," another one roared, "Come here and fight me!"

"The Charmed Ones go down," yet another one promised sinisterly, "TODAY!"

"Kill that son of a bitch first," the lizard looking one commanded, "and then his parents!"

"Hey!" Present Piper interrupted furiously, "Mind your language!"

"Piper," Future Piper quickly cut in, "now is not the time for things like that!"

"Ladies!" Andie almost whined. The fear was clearly written into his face. He had not signed up for this. "Let`s finish here!" Andie shouted in a pleading tone. Soon after that he had to duck an energy ball flying his way.

Leo had orbed back in next to him. Never growing used to people appearing out of the blue next to him, Andie choked. Leo only spared him a brief look before returning his attention to the battle field. He raised his hands and released the infamous elder electricity.

"Damn it!" Leo swore under his breath but not quietly enough, "Phoebe! Paige! Wake up!"

"Leo!" Present Piper admonished him sternly. Leo shot her an 'excuse-me look' and kept on attacking the demons.

"I don`t get why they are still coming!" Present Piper shouted over the noise. "Have we not killed enough already?"

"No clue!" Leo shot back as he was busy vanquishing demons.

"Hey guys," Future Piper exclaimed alarmed, "there is demon next to Wyatt!"

Future Piper had her hands full. She had no chance to help her little boy. His parents could not help him quickly enough either.

The already weakened force field took a full blow. It cracked slightly. But it did not fail its little owner.

"Oh my god Wyatt!" Present Piper shrieked, blew up the demon responsible for this and rushed over to her son.

Two other demons saw their opening. They conjured two athames, aimed for Piper´s head and threw them with deadly accuracy.

"PIPER!" Leo screamed as he tried to orb her out of harm´s way. He did not succeed because a ricochet shot hit him hard. He whirled around in pain and gasped.

"NO!" Future Piper shrieked. She had seen Leo fail to orb his family to safety. Wyatt´s force field was barely protecting the little boy. She could do nothing as she had to blow up two more demons that advanced on her.

Andie was rooted to the spot. With wide eyes he had to tear his gaze away. He could not watch while Piper was getting impaled. He felt sick and had to bite down hard to keep the bile from rising.

The athames came nearer. Piper had heard the desperate screams of her beloved ones and had cast a look back over her shoulder. Seeing those deadly daggers rushing towards her, intending to end her life, her eyes widened. She could not decide quickly enough if she should throw herself protectively in front of Wyatt or if she should jump out of the way to let the athames bounce off of Wyatt´s shield. All the while hoping that it would not fail her little sweetheart.

Piper was spared that decision. Neither athame hit their mark. Piper and little Wyatt were both engulfed in bright blue orbs. They orbed out quickly enough for the athames to fly through the space that was previously occupied by them. Unfortunately for two other demons that meant certain death.

Now Leo got really mad. He had believed his wife to be dead. He did not have time to feel relieved. He had to end this battle!

Future Piper was furious. Her anger combined with Leo´s enabled them to kill more efficiently than before. They acted as if they were a killer couple. Each of them was furious enough to vanquish an entire army of demons.

Soon after their killing spree the last demon was killed. Future Piper and Leo were breathing heavily. Exhaustion threatened to take them under but their will to get to Piper and Wyatt was stronger.

"Wow," Andie stuttered as he opened his eyes tentatively, "You guys took out at least 40 demons!" Andie was impressed.

"Yeah," Future Piper sighed and tried to calm her breathing.

"Could you," Leo asked out of breath, "check on the girls?"

Andie added two and two together and looked over to the other sisters. "Sure thing," he promised and rushed to Phoebe`s and Paige`s side. He dropped first next to Phoebe´s side and gave her a once over. Then he repeated the same with Paige. He gave a sigh of relief and immediately informed Piper and Leo about his discovery, "They`re alright. They are just sleepy."

"Huh?" Future Piper replied confused.

"Well," Andie hurried to explain, "their pupils react as if they were only asleep." He thought for a moment and inquired then, "I figure that they recover from some kind of poison?"

"Point taken," Leo conceded, "some kind of angry making potion."

"Oh that explains a lot," Andie´s face brightened, "All Jo`s doing." Then his face darkened again and he muttered, "I should have stopped that guy sooner."

"You know that guy?" Leo surmised incredulously.

"Yes sort of," Andie relented. Suddenly he looked hastily around. "Er speaking of him... where is Chris?"

"I orbed him to safety," Leo told him feeling a little bit proud of his quick thinking.

"What about Wyatt and Piper?" Future Piper wanted to know. She straightened herself and looked at him expectantly.

"Well," Leo began unsure, "I think that Wyatt orbed both of them out of harm's way."

"That cannot be Leo," Andie interfered. "Wyatt could not be ready to use anymore of his other powers. Twice blessed or not. A child in his age is heavily affected by such a kind of potion. I am afraid." Andie took a deep breath before facing the worried people in front of him. "It was not Wyatt who orbed them..." He was getting worried. Couldn´t they get a break?

Future Piper stared at him incredulously. "Then... then..." she stuttered.

"Who orbed them? And where are they now?" Leo asked the million dollar question.

His question was met with deafening silence.

* * *

_**Right after Piper and Wyatt were orbed off...**_

"Chris!" Present Piper exclaimed shocked, "What are you doing up?"

She had rematerialized a few seconds ago. She was glad for feeling alive, yes, but she had to make sure that Wyatt was safe, too. As she had whirled around to search for her missing son she had laid eyes on her other flesh and blood. He was sitting on the floor and had Wyatt in his lap.

"Pi..." Chris began to reply, but he did not even finish his sentence.

"I was so worried about you!" Piper cut in and began to ramble, "You scared me back there in the hospital. I did not know what to do or think." She trailed off not daring to think the worst. Her eyes began to water. "What shall I do without you?" she whispered softly.

Chris smiled sadly.

"Piper," Chris tried again. He was searching for the right words. "Listen."

"No honey," Piper cut in again, "You listen to me." Chris visibly tensed at the word 'honey'. She looked into his eyes willing him to understand her feelings. She took a breath and then promised him, "Everything will get better I promise! I..."

"Piper!" Chris cut in. Did she ever stop to talk when she was nervous, angry or upset? He guessed he knew the answer to that.

"What is it?" she asked suddenly looking very worried again. A small tear ran down her cheek.

"Er," he was feeling like a complete fool. He had managed to stop her rambling, but he was still searching for the right words to say.

"Chris?" Piper inquired anxiously. What was wrong? She got a very bad feeling in her gut.

He averted his gaze and avoided hers. He placed his brother on the bed next to him. Carefully using his arms and keeping his injured leg still. It was a bit of a challenge but Chris was never one to give up easily. They were at his grandpa`s. But Victor was obviously not at home.

"Chris?" she tried again.

He cleared his throat and looked at his feet but kept silent.

Piper narrowed her eyes. She began to give him a once over. She detected beads of sweat on his face. She stared at him closely. He seemed to sway slightly. She could see his hand begin to tremble. The other one was clenched as a fist. It seemed he was trying to counter the pain he was feeling. His hair was a mess. Even his clothes were torn and bloody. Yes, she identified the substance on his trousers and t-shirt as blood.

Horrified her eyes widened and she shrieked, "Oh my god Chris you`re bleeding!"

"I`m fine," he answered instinctively and flinched at his own words. He was a good liar but this time he could not even fool himself.

"No, you`re not!" she insisted harshly. He was used to that conversation by now. He sighed in a defeated way.

"Look," his voice was thin. His whole behaviour changed from live savior to a very fragile boy who just wanted to be held.

"I," he swallowed, "um ...I"

She had mercy on him. Hadn´t they been some kind of enemy just last week?

"You can tell me anything," she offered him kindly and quickly added, "Anything you want."

She was a mess right now. First her precious Wyatt had been poisoned and attacked. Now her second born sat in front of her and made an appearence as if he should stay in bed for at least a week. She trembled herself, fearing what he might have to say. Already sensing that it was bad news. And from his loss at words she figured it was something very serious.

"It`s not," he trailed off. It took him several seconds to pick up his line of thoughts, "It´s not that I don`t want to tell you."

She was waiting for him. She would allow him to talk to her when he was ready. And after another few agonizing seconds he whispered, "It´s just hard to speak it out aloud." He quickly glanced at her before adding in an even lower tone, "You know?"

She did not understand what he was trying to tell her. "What is it Chris? What is bothering you?" she gently prodded.

He sighed again. He looked up and closed his eyes. He had to do this. It was now or never.

"Mom?" he whispered. He raised his head to look at her. He could see how this one word was affecting her in ways he could have never imagined. Yet with his next sentence he would crush her heart. "I think my time is coming..." he whispered barely audible. He quickly looked down again. He could not look into her eyes.

Piper´s eyes had warmed upon hearing him call her mom. But hearing him implying that he was going to die, she did not know what she should think. "What?!" she could not decide if she should feel happy to be called mom or if she should cry because he just told her that he was going to die...

Chris looked up at her again. He was worried as she did not say anything else.

As their gazes met, each of them was shocked.

Piper saw how much pain Chris felt. His eyes were like an open book to his soul.

Chris saw desperation in his mother`s eyes and some sort of fighting spirit but he doubted that that would make any difference now. He felt like crap and he had used his last magical power to save his brother and mother.

They sat there and simply stared at each other.

* * *

Leo opened his eyes and proclaimed, "I found them! They`re all at Victor`s!"

Future Piper did not wonder why they were there she simply urged Leo on, "Then let`s get going!" She took hold of Phoebe and Paige.

"Andie come over here!" Leo demanded and Andie took Leo`s other hand as Future Piper had already taken his other hand.

Within two seconds they orbed off.

1...

2...

And another two seconds passed before they reappeared at a heart breaking scene in front of them.

Wyatt lay curled up in a ball on the bed.

Chris sat near him in a protective way and Piper...

Well, Piper stood in front of Chris now and was speaking rather rapidly, "... you know? What should that have been for? I did not find out that you are my son only to lose you a day after that! Chris, listen to me! You are _not_ dying! Not here, not now!" She willed him to look into her eyes to read the honesty there. "Your dad has found a doctor or a cure or both but he can help you! They can help you!" She took a deep breath. "_We_ can help you! Please do not give up that easily! Chris!"

"Mom," Chris replied sadly, "I tried I really did but I cannot do miracles! This poison is the strongest I ever encountered." He looked to his left side and added quietly, "And I encountered a lot."

"That is not the point Chris!" Present Piper admonished him.

"Then what?" Chris retorted, tired of this already. "Please tell me because I feel like crap and only want to..."

"NO!" Present Piper cut him off, "You do not die!" She looked at him sternly but he would not look at her. She decided to play her trump card. "Chris your brother is still needing you!"

"I wanted to say sleep!" Chris retorted tiredly, "And yes I know." He looked up at her. "But I cannot protect him in this condition!" He gestured lazily with his arms down his body.

"Yes you can!" Present Piper denied his negative arguments. "Look at you! Who has orbed us to safety? You!" She willed him to listen to her. "Now listen! You can fight this poison, I know you can!"

"Mom," Chris said seriously, "I think you do not get the point."

"Well," Present Piper relented, "then tell me!" She was almost pleading now.

Chris gulped. He had to tell her. He knew that now but he was not sure how to voice it.

"I feel like a traitor!" Chris confessed. He clenched his eyes shut as tears threatened to run down his cheeks. "I brought this new threat right to Wyatt. I... just because I got drunk after a fight with you guys!"

His confession broke Piper´s heart. Yet, she let him continue.

"I should have never been that careless! Look at him – his aura was pure evil! It was," he hiccupped. "It was as if his future self was in this time!"

Piper´s heart reached out to him. She wanted nothing more than to console him. But she was not sure if he would welcome her hug.

"Chris," she began. She waited for him to look at her. She could see how hard he tried not to cry. She knew that he was emotionally and physically exhausted. But she needed him to hear her out.

"I am really sorry for the way I treated you some days ago," she apologized. "But believe me when I tell you that you are not guilty. It is not your fault that Jo and his demon friends are after Wyatt. Hell, everyone is after him! You just tried to protect him by finding the threat that turns him!"

She looked at him expectantly. She never thought he would react like that though.

"Wait," Chris cut in, "Did you just say turns him? I never mentioned that before." He looked horrified.

"Oh Chris," Present Piper laughed it off, "Then your mom probably told me about it." She did not think much of it. 'Future consequences' was Chris´ trademark slogan but surely he had to understand that this was beside the point. As he did not answer her she studied him. "Chris?"

Chris had gotten rather pale. Paler than before that is. Piper scanned him over worriedly. "Chris, are you alright?"

Chris had slumped down. He could not believe this. "She`s here?" he whispered and Piper must have rushed forward to catch this words.

"Yes sweetie," Piper told him warmly, "she`s here."

The words began to register in Chris´ mind. This could not be. His breathing sped up.

"This," he gasped out, "this... was ... not... supposed... to...happen." He began to hyperventilate.

"Easy Chris calm down!" Piper soothed him. She rushed to his side and began to rub his back. "You are hyperventilating!" He was too far out of it to shrug off her touch.

Leo, Future Piper and Andie rushed over to them taking this scene as their cue.

Chris heard the commotion and slowly looked up. His eyes landed on the future version of Piper, his _mother_. His _dead_ mother. The breath he wanted so desperately to draw got stuck in his throat. His body went rigid. The lack of oxygen was quickly catching up with him. This was not supposed to happen, _his_ Piper could not be here!

"Piper, get out of the way!" Andie ordered and ran over to them. He pushed past Piper and dropped to his knees next to Chris.

"Listen boy," Andie addressed Chris. He touched his shoulder. "You need to breathe in and out, but slowly. Chris?" Andie inquired, "Hey Chris, do you hear me?"

"What is wrong with him?" Present Piper dared to ask. She had backed away to give room to the doctor.

"He went into some sort of shock," Andie told her. "Do you know about any injury and blood loss he mentioned?" Andie asked all the while trying to coax Chris to breathe.

"No," Piper said and whispered in a fearful voice, "He only said that his time came..."

"Leo," Andie turned around. "Get to your house and orb my medical suitcase over here. I need it!"

Leo took in the dire situation, nodded shortly and took off reluctantly. He shot one last worried look at his son before orbing off.

Future Piper held her breath, too. The look her baby had given her let her heart break. That much pain and confusion and... fear. Fear to die or to be dead before he could finish what he started.

Future Piper took a step forward. Chris saw her do this from the corner of his eye. He took in a shaky breath. He was in a full blown panic mode now. Whereas he had held his breath before he was now taking short rapid breaths.

"That`s a boy!" Andie praised him, "Now slow it down." He did not like how pale his patient looked. Getting oxygen into him was one step in the right direction. Yet, short rapid breaths were not good either.

Piper had backed further away. Suddenly blue orbs announced that Leo was back.

"Sorry," he apologized, "I did not know which suitcase you meant so I brought all four of them." He gestured towards the four suitcases he had orbed over.

"That is very good Leo," Andie thanked him, "Now hand me over the oxygen mask please."

"Sure," Leo responded and searched for it. He found it in no time. Grabbing it he rushed over to Andie and handed it over. "Has he been like this since I orbed off?"

"First he held his breath now he panics again," Piper informed him in a monotone voice.

Andie took the mask and grabbed a hold of Chris´ head with his other hand. He pressed the nonrebreather oxygen mask against Chris face. The pure oxygen should help him. Andie gently patted Chris´ arm as the boy tried to reach for the mask.

"Easy Chris," Andie scolded, "You`re going to need this. Now calm down and do yourself a favor. Take slow and deep breaths. And look at me," Andie instructed but Chris´ gaze was fixed on his real mother and his breath was still going rapidly and shallowly.

"Okay Leo," Andie spoke up after a few seconds had gone by, "It has no use. Hand me the syringe over there."

"Wait! What is it?" Leo asked suddenly alarmed.

"It is only a tranquilizer," Andie reassured him. "Nothing to worry about. But we need to get his breathing under control. It is no use if he freaks out likes this before we even start the therapy."

Leo handed him the syringe. "So there is a treatment?" he asked hopefully and Piper looked up with renewed hope in her eyes.

"Sort of yes. But first we need to calm him down," Andie answered. He calculated for a second. "Could you hold the mask Piper? And you Leo hold his arm please so that I can inject the substance?"

Piper walked over slowly. She knew she could help him. She sat down next to Chris. After nodding to Andie she overtook his grip on the mask. Chris was still breathing rapidly. He had not even noticed her. Leo came up next to them. He crouched down and took a hold of Chris left arm. At that touch he flinched a little bit but he kept his eyes fixed on his _dead _mother.

"Okay Piper," Andie instructed her, "keep him occupied. Let him watch you." He waited to see if she could do it. As he was sure that it could work, he began the countdown, "One, two, three ... and!" Andie injected the substance.

This time, however, Chris reacted. He turned his gaze to Andie and yanked his arm free of Leo`s grip. Only Piper was still holding the oxygen mask.

"What`id you do`tome?" Chris mumbled already under the influence of the heavy drug. His struggles began to cease. Fortunately Andie had been able to remove the syringe before Chris could have hurt himself.

Everyone waited with baited Chris. Chris´ breathing got slower.

"I gave you something that helps you to breathe easier boy," Andie informed him and looked at him.

"You...," but Chris could not think that thought to the end as Leo caught him before he fell backwards.

"Lay him down Leo," Andie instructed. "And I guess you two stay away from him for the time being." He told the two Pipers who looked hurt. "Sorry ladies but you freak him out. He is definetly not used to see two versions of you in the same room at the same time – or even one."

"How`d you know that I was dead?" Future Piper asked suspiciously.

"I`ll explain later. Now I treat your son." Andie replied and got into full doctor mood.

Chris breathing was still slowing. His head hurt as if it was hit by a train. Every movement seemed like a really really bad idea. So he just watched as his dad layed him down and he relaxed a bit.

But as he saw the Andie guy looking into his four huge medical suitcases his body tensed again.

_I need to get out of here..._

_How can mom be here? She`s dead – or she was – well and Piper – how can she stand next to her and not freak out? The whole future changed my mom – she is never the same as she was... And Leo... didn`t he hate me?_

_I am so confused... and ... yes... I think I am scared ..._

_It freaks me out to see both versions of my mom in the flesh..._

_I need to ask them what`s going on... _

_And I need to save my little bro._

"Chris?"

_What?! Oh that Andie guy..._

"Hey Chris..."

_Dad?_

"Okay stay with us..." Andie instructed but Chris found it rather difficult to follow his order.

"Is he going to be alright?" Leo asked worriedly.

"Yes, he will be fine. But he has a long healing process ahead. Sorry," Andie replied quietly.

"No, Andie do not be sorry," Leo cut in to reassure the doctor, "I am so happy that you have a cure."

"Yes, Leo I have and I will try everything to help your family," the doctor promised.

"Thanks." Leo smiled at him.

"No problem. Just help me to get him settled in a bed," Andie put Leo´s gratitude off.

"Sure. But let`s orb over to the Manor first," Leo suggested.

"Okay. We can fetch the ladies later I think," Andie conceded.

"Yes Piper and Piper can watch over Phoebe, Paige and Wyatt for a sec," Leo replied and felt awkward saying it out loud.

Chris wanted to scream at them. How could they put his health before Wyatt`s safety?

But he could not think of any words as his eyes rolled back and he was yet again awaited by a darkness that would not allow any thoughts.

"Quick. I need him set up on the antidote Leo!" Andie urged.

And Leo orbed them out.

* * *

_**In the meanwhile...**_

"Huh?" Piper said as she noticed that Phoebe began to stir.

"What is it?" Future Piper asked.

"Look I think Phoebe is going to wake up..." Piper whispered.

Wyatt crawled groggily over to the Pipers.

"Cwis?" he asked in his baby cute voice.

"Chris will be fine. He´ll be fine." Piper assured her son as much as herself.

"OH MY GOD!" Phoebe exclaimed jolting awake with a start.

"What?" Piper whirled around.

"Why are there two versions of you?!" Phoebe almost shrieked.

"Pheebs! Listen...," Piper began but was cut short by Paige who also had regained consciousness.

"Listen I just had the weirdest dream ever," Paige moaned and then spotted the two Pipers. She quickly added, "Okay this tops it!"

"Paige! Phoebe!" Piper admonished them. As they looked at her she continued. "May I introduce you? This is Chris´ mom, Piper, my future self. Piper these two are..."

"They`re your sisters and also mine," she smiled knowingly. "Hey guys it`s good to see you."

"Yeah same here," Phoebe was speechless. She blinked. Both Pipers remained in the room.

"Hey Piper nice to meet you," Paige replied politely.

"How are you two feeling? Any side effects?" Piper inquired worriedly.

"Side effects?" Phoebe echoed confused.

"Well, you were poisoned with a similar poison as Chris. Leo gave you the antidote from them up-there," Piper indicated with her fingers the up-there. "I just wondered if there are any other side effects besides unconsciousness for several minutes."

"Oh," realization dawned on Paige, "No, I am fine. Just a little bit dizzy I guess."

"I was also poisoned?" Phoebe asked indignantly. "If this is what Chris felt for the last couple of days then... Oh my gosh! How is he?!"

Future Piper answered, "He`s with Leo and Andie Brooks, a medical magician, at our house. Er your house, sorry."

"Wait," Paige cut in. "Then where are we?"

"And who exactly is this Andie guy? Where did you meet and," Phoebe wanted to know.

"Okay... well we´re at dad`s and Andie helped us saving Chris at the hospital. Right now he starts the treatment I think." Piper explained hurriedly.

"Oh so you trust this guy?" Paige asked incredulously.

"Sort of. But he is the only one who can help Chris right now." Future Piper admitted.

"This leads us back to why you are here." Phoebe broached the subject again. "Don´t get me wrong. It`s just ... weird to see you here... now... you know?"

"Phoebe ... I am here because Piper needed help with saving Chris," Future Piper supplied.

"But we were..." Phoebe said and realized as soon as Paige finished her sentence with "poisoned." That they had been no use back then.

"We`re sorry Piper for letting you down..." Phoebe apologized.

"Doesn`t matter now. You are safe and you watched over Wyatt as I was too busy with arguing with a crazy woman about Chris. We all made errors... Let`s just stick together, kick Jo´s butt and save both of my sons okay?" Piper suggested.

"I am here to help you!" Paige confirmed.

"Yeah you can count on me honey!" Phoebe promised.

"ww!" Wyatt bubbled.

Piper smiled and Future Piper asked: "So Paige would you mind orbing us over?"

"Of course not! I would love to!" Paige replied happily and orbed them.

TBC...

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	21. Crystal cage for Chris

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 21: Crystal cage for Chris**

"Okay Leo. Lay him on the bed," Andie instructed as they rematerialized in the Manor. "But be careful of his leg and hand."

"Sure," Leo answered the doctor. He moved his hand from Chris´ shoulder and grabbed Chris´ upper body. He put one arm behind his son´s back and his other under Chris´ knees. He moved carefully from his crouched position and heaved his son up. Grunting from the effort he hoisted his son on Piper`s bed.

Chris groaned in response but remained otherwise calm. He was slowly coming around again.

"Is he out of it?" Leo whispered afraid to rouse his son and cause him pain. As long as Chris was out of it he would remain relatively painless.

"I think so," Andie replied deep in thought. He gave Chris a once over and added, "The tranquilizer did a good job I think."

Andie reached for a small pillow. He carefully lifted Chris´ right hand and slid the pillow underneath it. He leaned closer and inspected the broken finger. After a few seconds he muttered shocked, "Hell of a job they did here."

"What?" Leo asked eager to help but nervous about getting to know the full extent of Chris´ injuries.

"His right index finger is broken," Andie clarified and looked up at Leo. He waited for him to give the smallest nod and then directed his attention to Chris´ face.

"There is a small bruise on his lip and on his eye. See that?" Andie pointed at the injuries.

"Oh my god," Leo uttered quietly, "My poor son." He knew that there could be worse injuries yet to be discovered.

"There," Andie continued his list, "this looks like a cracked rib and," his gaze travelled down Chris´ body slowly, "wow – his leg is a mess!" Andie shuddered at the sight in front of him.

"Yes he said it is broken," Leo admitted and hoped that Andie could fix this. "As we found him his leg was in a weird position," Leo informed him.

"Yes your poor son," Andie confirmed Leo´s earlier assessment. "Help me lift his leg up on a pillow," Andie instructed.

Leo slid a bigger pillow over to them. He stared at the mess that resembled Chris´ leg and swallowed hard. Andie looked at him and nodded encouragingly. Leo positioned his hands over Chris´ leg and nodded at Andie. Andie grabbed the pillow and said, "Let´s do this."

Leo took one last breath and pulled Chris´ leg up.

The pain they caused Chris was enough to rouse him from his oblivion. Chris´ eyes flew open, watering slightly. Leo looked at his son and his heart felt like it was ripped apart. The only other reaction Chris showed involuntarily was a slight whimper he could not suppress.

"Sorry son," Leo quickly apologized. He wanted to help him, he really did, but all he seemed to be able to do was cause more pain.

Chris´ watery gaze turned ever so slowly and finally landed on Leo. But instead of anger, reassurance or even sadness all Leo could detect was confusion. Leo could almost see the wheels slowly getting into motion as his son opened his mouth slightly. Yet, not words were spoken.

"Leo, let him be," Andie advised,"He is under heavy drugs right now."

Andie quickly put the pillow under the wounded limb and Leo carefully lowered the leg onto it.

Another quiet whimper and a single tear of pain was the only reaction Chris showed.

"Hey Chris. It`s me, it`s Andie," Andie told Chris and directed his attention to himself. As soon as Chris´ gaze rested on Andie, the doctor told his patient, "I need you to go back to sleep, okay?"

The confusion did not leave Chris´ facial expression. He kept on staring at the doctor.

"Okay buddy," Leo chimed in, "Just listen to Andie here and you`ll get fine in no time."

Chris´ attention slowly returned to Leo. Suddenly his whole buddy shivered involuntarily. Taking a small shuddering breath his body slowly began to glow blue.

"Woah!" Andie exclaimed, startling Chris. He reached out and grabbed Chris´ shoulders. "Amazing! You can still orb?!"

"Chris! Calm down!" Leo spoke harshly to him. He put his hand on Chris´ hip.

Chris flinched, feeling suddenly very caged. His gaze landed on Leo. His watery eyes turned sad but he continued to look straight at Leo.

"Sorry son," Leo amended, "I did not mean to raise my voice." He wanted nothing more than to hold Chris and tell him everything would be okay.

"...," Chris tried to speak. He painfully coughed and tried to clear his throat. Then he tried again, "W..." His voice was barely audible.

"What did you say?" Leo leaned forward to catch the whisper. What was his son trying to tell him?

"Wy?" Chris uttered exhausted and frustrated.

"I don`t know what you mean Chris," Andie apologized and squeezed Chris´ shoulder softly. He felt Chris´ shoulders sag.

"But I do," Leo objected. Chris looked up at him hopefully. "He`s fine," Leo told him and clarified, "He´s with the sisters."

Chris´ reaction was late but then a small smile developed on his face. His eyes expressed utter exhaustion and he could not help but drift back to sleep. At least for the time being Wyatt was safe.

"He meant his brother?" Andie tried to understand. He was amazed how easily Leo could understand and interpret this syllable.

"Yes they seem to have a very close connection," Leo explained, "He would do everything for Wyatt."

"I see," Andie replied and got quiet.

Leo watched as Andie started the treatment on Chris.

He started an IV and wrote something down on a chart like thing after he took the temperature and pulse of Chris.

"He`s going to be fine Leo," Andie assured him, "I got an antidote and we`ll see if it helps."

"I hope it does," Leo sounded bleak.

"Yes, but we cannot be sure right now," Andie reminded him, "We have to wait and see."

"I know," Leo replied sadly, "but.."

"You can speed things up," Andie interjected. Leo looked at him expectantly. "If you encounter Jo," Andie stated.

"Really?" Leo inquired curiously.

"Yes," Andie confirmed, "he has to have the right antidote."

"Okay," Leo conceded, eyes brightening at the prospect of helping his son. "I get the sisters and..."

His sentence was cut off by the sound of orbing. Blue light appeared in the bedroom of Piper. After its intensity diminished the blue light revealed the sisters, Future Piper and baby Wyatt.

"Leo!" Present Piper exclaimed immediately after she laid eyes upon her ex-husband. "How is he?!" She walked over with Wyatt on her hip.

"He is going to be fine," Leo smiled at her and gave her a kiss.

Phoebe and Paige stood with Future Piper next to them and simply watched.

"Hey buddy!" Leo greeted his first born son, "Your brother is going to be fine!"

Wyatt squealed at his daddy as if understanding the deeper meaning. Leo stroked through his hair.

"I assume that you two regained consciousness again?" Andie stated the obvious to Phoebe and Paige in a way of greeting.

"Looks like it..." Paige muttered, rolling her eyes at Mr Obvious but Phoebe quickly greeted the man. "You must be Mr Brooks!"

"It`s Andie for you," Andie corrected her, "but yes I am. Nice to meet you." He could not quite hold back his admiration for the Charmed Ones.

"I am Phoebe and this is Paige." She introduced them, pointing towards Paige.

"And I am Piper," Future Piper said, "but we´ve already met." She walked over to the little family.

"Thank you so much Piper," Leo told her, feeling and sounding truly grateful.

"Never mind Leo," She smiled at him. "It was my family." She smiled at him as he looked confused. "I may be dead in the future but I am happy now that my son there turns out to be a brave man!"

"Yes, he has guts." Paige affirmed.

"And he is adorable!" Phoebe added with mischief knowing full well that Chris would not like her calling him that.

"And a strong fighter!" Andie added feeling the need to contribute.

Both Pipers smiled proudly.

"I need to go now," Future Piper announced after a short silence.

"Wait, why?" Present Piper asked her bewildered, "Why now? So soon?"

"I can`t risk to be here any longer," Future Piper explained, "I belong to the afterlife and he is not used to see me around." For a fleeting moment there was a sad longing in her tone.

"I see," Present Piper replied dejected. "But you need to answer my questions first, please!"

"Yes, we need some information," Leo added. Phoebe and Paige looked expectantly at her.

"Okay," Future Piper answered after a short break, "As long as it does not mess with the future."

"Is Wyatt really that bad?" Leo asked her fearing the worst.

"I am afraid yes, he is," Future Piper informed them, "He rules over all people."

"Wow," Phoebe exclaimed and Paige kicked her with her ellbow.

"Why am I dead?" Piper asked nervously.

"All I can say is," Future Piper paused to think over her next words, "that it was somehow meant to be. Do not worry too much about that Piper. Maybe Chris can change that. Even if he does not try."

"Oh," was all Present Piper could reply.

"Where are we in the future?" Paige asked next.

"You are," Future Piper spoke hesitatingly, "well you have your own burdens."

"And that means?" Phoebe pressed.

"You are kinda busy with your lives," Future Piper confessed.

"Oh," Phoebe was not content with this answer.

"Has Chris friends in the future?" Present Piper changed the subject.

"Huh?" Future Piper asked back.

"I mean," Present Piper tried to explain herself, "he is so secretive and quiet sometimes and so damn stubborn!"

Future Piper laughed. "Of course he has friends!" She told them and added with a wink, "Just wait and see..."

"Okay," Piper sighed. On the one hand she wanted to know on the other hand she did not.

"And where am I?" Leo wanted to know.

"I don`t know," Future Piper said. "You kinda," she blushed, "well you are busy with a lot of elder stuff." Realizing her mistake she hastily added, "oops I did not mean to spill that..."

"I figured something like that..." Leo whispered depressed.

"What?" Future Piper asked startled, "you guys are not freaked out about the elder part?!"

"No," Phoebe muttered, "Leo here is already an elder!"

"What?!" Future Piper exclaimed.

"Yes," Paige confirmed, "and I figure that that is a side effect of Chris time travelling..."

"Does that mean that he was not supposed to be an elder in your time line?" Piper chimed in.

"No he," Future Piper sighed, "well it does not matter. In the end he is an elder in both time lines."

"Yes but I am not that proud of it," Leo admitted, "I mean I seem to be more elder than a father..."

"You could say that," Future Piper confirmed. "But you have the choice now Leo. Use the knowledge and change this fact! Be there for your boys and your wife. Maybe you can change some bad events," F Piper suggested.

"Yeah? I`ll try!" Leo promised.

"That sounds great!" Future Piper agreed.

"And we will do our best, too!" Phoebe added and everyone laughed at her.

"What? I mean it!"

"Yes Phoebe," Paige laughed.

"Er... um," Andie asked shyly, "I guess so you`re travelling back to the future?"

"Yes that`s right," Future Piper said, "and no I do not spill the lottery numbers..."

"That was not what I meant" Andie said and blushed. "I was just wondering what would happen to my family..."

"Oh don`t worry!" Future Piper reassured him, "Alan and Helen will be okay."

"You know them?!" Andie asked astonished.

"Helen and Alan?" Present Piper asked. "Those guys who help children?"

"Yes, how do you know them?!" F Piper asked.

"Well, they found Chris that day..." Piper explained.

"Yeah that sounds like them,"Andie explained, "They are my parents."

"And what happened to them?" Paige asked.

"They will call soon," Future Piper predicted, "Then you will find out."

"Oh okay," Leo conceded, "But would they also have called without Chris travelling back in time?"

"Er actually yes..." Future Piper realized. "That is all so weird."

"Yes it is," Phoebe agreed.

"Now I need to go... really guys," Future Piper ended their asking session, "I`ll miss you though!"

"We´ll miss you too!" Paige said and huggged her.

"Although I guess that we will live with you later," Phoebe smirked. "So in a couple of years..."

"Right Pheebs" Future Piper said and hugged her also.

"Okay then it`s my turn," Leo said and made a gesture to hug her but she placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Just stay true to your word from earlier Leo!" she reminded him. He smiled and nodded, "I will."

Then she stood before Present Piper and Wyatt.

"Please Piper," Future Piper addressed her. "Do not fail him as I did. Save him. He is such a nice boy."

"I do my very best!" Piper promised and Wyatt mumbled something. Future Piper smiled at him proudly. "Yes sweetie!"

They hugged shortly and then she walked to Andie. "Thanks for taking care of my sons and my famliy, Andie. Greet your parents from me."

"No problem Piper." Andie said and shook her hand.

Then she walked to Chris and stroked back his hair that was on his wet forehead.

"Be nice to Leo and much luck with saving your brother, I know you can do that!" She placed a kiss on his forehead. "Farewell Chris." He instinctively leaned into her hand on his cheek.

"Iloveyoumom" he whispered in his sleep and Future Piper had tears in her eyes.

The whole family watched in amazement and with tears in their eyes.

"Please look after him will you?" she said to her family who nodded and smiled back. "He is such a brave boy... my little peanut..."

"We will keep him save and we will save Wyatt." Piper promised.

"Okay" Future Piper whispered and began to fade.

"Goodbye" Piper whispered and waved goodbye along with Wyatt.

Leo watched as his soon to be ex-wife faded and felt the need to cry at her loss in the future.

Phoebe and Paige held each others hands and watched nearly crying out loud.

Andie nodded to her as she finally faded completely.

"I am going to die young," Piper whispered apathetically and Leo took her in an embrace. "We can try to prevent it you know honey..."

"Yes... but what if it is meant to be?" she whispered horrified.

Wyatt mumbled again and looked up at her. Piper smiled at him. "Okay sweetie, you`re right!"

Andie cleared his throat: "Er I do not want to disturb but I think the phone is ringing..."

"I`ll get it!" Paige said and orbed downstairs.

"Look," Phoebe said and pointed at Chris.

A single tear rolled down his cheek.

"I knew that he knew and recognized her," Piper said sadly. "My poor boy..."

"We will make things better this time I promise. BIG promise," Leo said and kissed Piper on her cheek.

"I´ll help you," Piper added.

Just in this moment Paige orbed back in.

"And what did my parents say?" Andie wanted to know. He already suspected that Future Piper´s prediction came true.

"They said that the last teenager they found remembered a Chris who was with Jo and his companions. He informed them where Jo´s last known hideout was. They know that the power of three is needed to vanquish him and met a fairy who told them where we live. They contacted us in the hope that we`ll help them. I already said yes... Any different plans?" Paige informed them.

"Are you kidding?!" Piper said. "We are going to kick that demon brat`s butt!"

"Yes we are!" Leo agreed and Phoebe nodded.

"So we need this vanquishing potion of the book, a spell and crystals." Paige said.

"Crystals?" Phoebe asked.

"Well when we all go," Paige explained, "then Chris would be on his own. That way we give him some sort of protection."

Wyatt mumbled baby talk and orbed next to Chris. He held his hand and snuggled closer.

"How sweet," Piper commented. Then an idea struck her. "Okay Wyatt, you protect your little brother, okay?" Piper said and nodded to Paige that she could fetch the crystals.

"And I stay, too," Andie offered, "I have some powers of my own that can come in handy if needed!"

"Then this is set!" Phoebe said and rushed of in the direction of the attic.

"Wait Pheebs I`ll help you!" Piper said and rushed after her.

"Keep them save Andie," Leo requested and walked out of the room after Andie nodded. He glanced one last time back to his sons who had curled up into balls that where connected through their hands.

He smiled and left.

There were demons to hunt...

TBC:_ =)

One more chapter and it`s over... =( so sad...

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


	22. Ensuring Chris happy existence

**No such things as mercy if you are a Halliwell**

**Chapter 22: Ensuring Chris happy existence**

A/N: There it is the end... =( What should we do?

Well just read on and enjoy! Oh and you can tell me what you think of this story.

Please.

On with the story:

* * *

And they were busy.

Busy with making the stuff that was needed to kick Jo`s ass.

Phoebe got the ingredients. Paige handed them to Piper. Piper `cooked` the potion.

All the while Phoebe thought of a spell that could help them.

Leo had brought paper and pencil and had already checked on with the elders to get as much information about Jo as possible.

Chris remained unconscious with Wyatt and Andie in Piper`s bedroom.

After a couple of minutes all was done.

"I got the spell!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Potion`s ready!" Piper announced.

"Ready to go?" Leo asked.

"YES!" Paige answered.

They orbed out of the house.

Wyatt mumbled quietly.

* * *

Andie felt the need to talk to the little guy.

"Your brother needs to sleep in order to get better Wyatt. He is ill and needs his rest."

His gaze wandered over Chris´ battered body, assessing the damage and planning the treatment.

"Do you know Wyatt? That is a cast not a stone on your brother´s leg. It helps your brother to heal better."

His gaze travelled up again.

"His finger is broken. But it`ll be okay soon, too."

He watched the relaxed facial features of his patient.

"As soon as he is ready to wake up, he will. See Wyatt your brother was really really tired back then. It could take some time."

Wyatt replied something in baby talk.

"When he is better he will be up and around. Then he can play with you again."

After watching them for a moment he said.

"Come on Wy,you stay here. I`ll fetch something to eat and drink. Just watch over you bro will ya?"

Andie left the room smiling to fetch some candies.

* * *

"Long time no see Jo," Piper greeted the demon.

"Is that Piper?" Jo asked.

"The one and only," Piper answered.

"I thought we vanquished you already Jo," Paige stated confused.

"I am afraid you only got my twin brother Jo."

"Huh?" Phoebe asked confused.

"Well apparently all of my siblings are called Jo," Jo replied and smirked.

"Very funny," Paige deadpanned.

"Of course those are only the nicknames!" Jo defended himself.

"As in Josefine, Joseph, John, and so on?" Leo asked looking as if he was going to roll his eyes.

"Exactly! But you will never know how many of us are out there!" Jo hissed and started an energy ball.

"Okay guys change in plans!" Piper whistled.

"I am open for any kind of suggestions Piper!" Phoebe replied as Jo threw the first ball at Paige who orbed out just in time.

"Leo and Paige you help me with fighting this Jo. And you Phoebe think of a spell that could summon all Jos here. Well only the ones of his family of course!" Piper explained.

"Okay!" All of them agreed.

Piper blew Jo up.

Paige orbed the energy balls out of people`s harm way.

Leo attacked with electricity.

And Phoebe was busy with thinking.

"I got one!" She suddenly cried and waved at them.

"Then spell it!" Piper shouted back.

"Will it work?" Phoebe asked.

"We only need the power of three for the vanquishing part Pheebs!" Piper replied.

"Yeah and nobody would be that stupid to call all Jos at once!" Paige added.

"Just do it!" Leo urged.

"Okay!" Phoebe replied.

"_**Let the demons called Jo**_

_**come all here now**_

_**so that we can face them and try**_

_**to give right to our future nephew guy.**_

_**They all need to be at this place**_

_**So let them come from across space!"**_

As soon as Phoebe was finished the atmosphere changed.

"There must be a lot of them!" Leo warned them as bit by bit a couple of shimmers came in.

"I count 10 no,... more!" Paige shouted.

"Doesn`t matter guys!" Piper shouted. "Just stick to the plan!"

"What plan?" Phoebe asked but was reminded when the last demon Jo was there.

"Hurry girls!" Leo urged and they began to chant:

"_**Let this evil here,**_

_**that we fear**_

_**get punished for their mistakes**_

_**and vanquish its bits**_

_**no matter what it takes**_

_**as long as it fits."**_

All along they threw all of their potions and Leo added some electricity.

Before any of the Jos could have done anything let alone speak anything they were gone.

"Are they...?" Paige asked as she spotted the ash on the ground.

"I hope so..." Piper muttered.

"I believe," Phoebe panted, "that we did it"

"Great work guys," Leo praised them.

"It only worked because this Jo told us that he had more Jos in his family," Piper reminded them.

"That proofs that demons are indeed stupid!" Paige said.

"Hey! One example does not count for the whole community!"Phoebe interjected.

"Says you," Paige rolled her eyes.

"I`m just saying!" Phoebe tried to defend herself.

"It`s alright. She`s right," Piper said and gave her ex-husband a hug. "Thanks sweetie for backing us up here."

"Anytime Piper," Leo said and smiled at her.

"You know that you cannot do that with the human race either!" Phoebe added.

"It`s okay Phoebe! We got it!" Paige cut her off.

"Let`s just get home. I am dying to know how my sons... _OUR_ sons are doing," Piper said and smiled at Leo.

He grinned at her.

"Yeah our nephews need their aunties!" Phoebe squealed.

"Aunties?!" Paige said. "They need their favorite aunt!" And with that she orbed out.

"That`s not fair!" Phoebe complained and ran over to Leo. "Hurry, orb!"

Leo laughed but obeyed.

Piper could not hold back a giggle.

* * *

As soon as they got back they saw a heartbreaking scene.

Wyatt lay in Chris left arm and slept deeply. Chris was also still out of it. But his arm was protectively over Wyatt.

Paige stood next to Andie and looked at the sleeping couple.

As Piper, Leo and Phoebe orbed in they shushed them.

"Let them sleep," Paige advised.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Andie asked the parents.

"Sure. Come on out," Piper said but had already her bad feeling back.

Leo followed them outside.

Phoebe got over to Paige. "I AM the best aunt ever."

"No I AM. But I can prove it to you as soon as one of them wakes up," Paige replied and grinned evil.

"What did you do?" Phoebe whispered back. "A spell?"

"NO!" Paige insisted. "I am just cool."

"Oh... Well I am more..." but Phoebe could not think of something right now as her little nephew yawned and turned to his brother. He looked at his brother and settled back to sleep.

"Okay... we wait `til they wake up." She said and looked at her nephews.

Paige smiled and nodded still watching the scene.

Outside the door stood the other three people.

"What is it Andie?" Leo asked as he sensed that his wife could not speak loud.

"Oh it`s no bad news. Relax. I just wanted to say that if he keeps sleeping he will recover from the poison eventually," Andie explained.

"Thank God" Piper whispered.

"Well it could take some more time as it took you, Leo or your sisters and son, Piper, considering that Chris was exposed to the poison for longer. But that will only throw him back for a day at top. Otherwise the leg... well that could last longer but twisted bones heal and his finger will too. Just give him time. Maybe he can be healed when the poison is out of his system. You can give it a try."

"Thank you Andie," Leo said as Andie was finished.

"Anytime Leo. Your wife and family do so much to help the world that this was the last I could do in return. Just keep your boys safe will ya?"

"Of course. They are my life," Piper admitted and added, "Thank you so much for your help. I don`t know where we were without you Andie." She hugged him.

"I help when I can," He replied and made a gesture. "I have to leave. My parents want to see me. We go to a restaurant."

"Oh have fun Andie," Leo said.

"And greet them from us!" Piper added as Andie was already at the stairs. "Yeah and you greet Phoebe, Paige, Chris and Wyatt. I`ll call in some days to see how they are okay?"

"Sure thing!" Piper said.

As he had left she turned to her husband.

"Look Piper, I am sorry. Sorry for everything I put you and our family through," Leo began to explain.

"Funny. I was just about to say the same." Piper said.

"Well I will try to visit you more frequently – if you agree. – I can help with the boys. And I can help in the household..."

"Leo you don`t have to. But I would like to see you around more frequently. And the boys do need a father. And for now I wish that we too had a room for ourselves..." she added as a whisper.

"Well that is no problem. Paige, Phoebe," Leo whispered in the room and said as they turned to him. "Can you two watch over them? We are out for a date."

"Sure thing Leo. Have a nice time!" Paige said and Phoebe gave him thumbs up and her "everything-will-be-great-look".

He turned around only to be greeted with Piper who leaned forward to kiss him.

As they broke apart from the lack of air she whispered. "Leo Wyatt, I do love you."

And Leo answered as he was already orbing them somewhere: "You are the best that has ever happened to me, Piper Halliwell. And I love you so much that I can`t put it in words."

And he thought that he had never seen her that happy before.

* * *

**Epilogue:**

This night Piper and Leo had a great night.

They made Baby Chris and saved his very existence.

They gave themselves another chance and Leo promised once more that he would stay around longer and more frequently. Well the elders did not know about those plans but they would find out soon enough...

* * *

Paige and Phoebe continued arguing about who the best aunt would be until late in the night.

All the while they had the baby phone with them.

They had left the two boys in Piper`s bed after they tugged them into blankets and gave them kisses.

Would either one of them had been awake the aunts would have gotten into a lot of trouble.

But they were still asleep so Phoebe and Paige had enough time to argue.

In the early morning they gave up and promised that the boys had to decide.

They got into their beds only to find themselves in front of Piper`s bedroom door again.

Of course neither of them admitted it but they waited for them to wake up.

* * *

Andie had a great dinner with his parents.

He told them about Chris and the Charmed Ones. He praised Wyatt and his dad.

The whole conversation was about that story and his parents were hooked up with the events.

They promised to visit Chris as soon as he was better and drank a toast to their son.

**F I N**

I am so sorry but I had to end it somewhere and sometime...

I hope you did enjoy this story. It was my first one that was this long and got finished.

Even if I had a long time problems with posting new chapters I can now say that any other story should be finished before the posting... Lol... It saves a lot of stress.

Nevertheless PLEASE tell me what you think or thought of this story. I LOVE YOU for your reviews! And thanks to all of you who reviewed regularly or sometimes. Your reviews rock!

A/N: I tried to improve this chapter – fixed some typos and grammar mistakes, added some descriptions. I hope you approve of it!

Thanks for your feedback


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